Railway's land grabbed by Mafia in Lalu's land

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Kishanganj, July 6: The National Railway Users' Consultative Council (NRUCC) member and Congress leader B.K.Thakur has rapped the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) for its sluggish move to salvage a 50-acre plot of land at the defunct Kishanganj City railway station which has been encroached by mafia.

The plot lies a kilometer from present Kishanganj station under Katihar division of the NFR.

Mr Thakur told reporters here today that Railway Minister Lalu Prasad had specifically asked the top NFR officials to salvage the plot from mafia dons.

Mr Prasad's direction came after being informed about the prime land more than a year ago when he had come here to flag off the Kishanganj-Ajmer weekly Garib Nawaz Express train.

The site, he was told, would be most suitable for construction of the proposed PIT washing line at Kishanganj, Mr Thakur said.

However, the railway officials had done nothing in this regard and are now constructing the PIT washing line on the station campus, which could cause a health hazard among locals, Mr Thakur opined.

According to documents, the encroached plot of land had been acquired by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) from Rallis Jute Mill owner in 1913 for extension of narrow guage line from Siliguri to Kishanganj.

The DHR runs narrow guage train also known as "toy train" between Siligri and Darjeeling and at that time it wanted to extend the same upto Kishanganj. The DHR had acquired the land in the name of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Extension Company, its ancillary.

Accordingly, the narrow guage line was laid between Kishanganj and Siliguri via Alwabari (Islampur) and toy train journey between Kishanganj and Siliguri started off in the year of 1914.

However, in 1948, the narrow guage line was converted into metre guage, and the toy train journey was curtailed to Siliguri like before. With the conversion of the narrow guage into mg and abandonment of the toy train services, Kishanganj city station, too, was abandoned.

Its land, including a big pond which was then used for cleansing of trains, was over the years usurped and grabbed by the land mafia.

Some railway quarters, however, still remain there, sources said.

Mr Thakur said he, as a member of the apex body NRUCC, will write letters to the Railway Minister, the Chairman of Railway Board for recovery of the prime land which was valued at several crores.


UNI

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