Villagers, politicians, want reopening of Jammu-Sialkot road

Suchetgarh, J&K, Apr 10: Thousands of divided families in Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for the opening of the historic 42 Km Jammu-Sialkot route which was once the main railway and road link between the state and rest of the country.

Ever since the link was closed, we have been pushed to the brink of poverty," says Dwarka Nath, an 85-year-old farmer at Abdulliah village of Suchetgarh. A few meters across the border is Karthal village in Sialkot district of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Farmers here grow the world famous Basmati variety of rice but there is hardly market nearby for selling their produce. They feel that the opening of the road would give them access to markets.

For the people of villages near the India-Pakistan International border, the road has a historic and emotional importance. In the past few months, people from various parts of the State have thronged the village to catch a glimpse of the old railway track.

Border Security Force jawans and village elders seem to have taken on the added responsibility of tourist guides. One can see people walking through the fields to the zero line looking for traces of the old railway track. Pritam Singh of Nai Basti, a nearby village, takes visiting journalists to his fields and points to the remnants of the railway track.

BSF Jawans posted along the zero line point out that hardly any investment is required for opening of the road as it is located on a plain stretch. The road is operational till the last border village and even on the Pakistani side one can see a motorable road. Opening of this road would gain access for the people of Jammu to Pakistani cities like Lahore, only three hours journey from this place.

Old people remember the two-hour joy ride on Jammu-Sialkot train which ran every day before 1947. Veteran writer Balraj Puri, 77, a Padma Bhushan award winner, says, "I remember going to Sialkot every Saturday by paying one Anna for the ticket. We used to go there to enjoy sports events as Sialkot was called a Sports city. Similarly, people from Sialkot used to come to Jammu to enjoy a swim in the famous Ranbir cannal of Chenab river.

" The demand for reopening the road is not limited to the old generation. Raja Zafar, a 34-year-old youth of Jammu city whose relatives live in Sialkot district says, "We are surprised at why policy makers of both countries are not opening this road as the maximum number of divided families live in Jammu region. Only 600 people have travelled on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road since April 7, 2005, but if this road is reopened, I am confident that thousands of people would travel every week. Let this road link be opened to unite separated families as this would be the biggest confidence building measure between the two countries vis-a-vis the state of Jammu and Kashmir." Reopening of the road has been part of the agenda of every political party in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad says, "We are in favour of opening all the routes as we want to unite the divided families on both sides of the border.

Jammu-Sialkot route is part of the process of people-to-people contacts which would go a long way in normalising relations between the two countries at the micro level." The PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has also asked the central leadership to initiate the opening of Suchietgarh-Sialkot rail and road links so that regional aspirations are addressed. The National Conference President Omar Abdullah has also demanded its early opening.

UNI