On Thursday, the city of Jamshedpur faced a massive demolition exercise as the Indian Railways took a bulldozer action to move encroachment off major railway land. This is one step towards being more aggressive in terms of infrastructure geared towards the Vande Bharat Express, which will soon pass through this important industrial city.
Within the past few weeks, the Railways has been putting more emphasis on expanding and modernizing its routes and in particular, the eastern route. The advantageous location of Jamshedpur on the Howrah-Mumbai rail corridor and the proximity of huge industrial areas are positioned to become the new important stop on the Vande Bharat route. But illegal constructions along the railway lines were hindering its development, and therefore, a prompt administrative action was taken against this.
The demolition drive on Thursday was with lots of machinery, with bulldozers entering crowded resettlement colonies near the tracks in Tatanagar Railway Station. A few illegal shops, houses and sheds erected in the name of railway land were demolished within hours. The procedure was done with high security measures to deter any possible chaos and interference.
Officials of the railway said that notices were issued on repeated occasions within the past few months, warning the encroachers to get out of the premises. The occupants did not bother responding to the action, and therefore, the Railways merely carried on with the demolition following its zero-tolerance stance towards unlawful encroachment.
A senior railway official who is in charge of the operation said, the Vande Bharat Express is not just showing the presence of speed and modernization, but they need safe tracks and platforms that are traffic-free. Our purpose is to be safe, on time and develop long-term. This clearance exercise is arguably needed in the successful implementation of the service in this area.
Although the push was mostly peaceful, some residents showed dissatisfaction, reasoning that they did not get adequate time to move. Other local officials were also claiming that the decision that was made to carry out the demolition abruptly was not incorporated with proper rehabilitation strategies for the victims of the act. But the railway administration insisted that they had acted by the law and the encroachments had been repeatedly marked to be removed.
Citizens have given varied reactions to the move. The move was regarded by many as a move that was essential towards the road towards modern development and transportation in the city, where there is a high volume of passenger traffic on a daily basis. Others, and especially those affected by the drive, are pressuring the authorities to compensate or to offer them new housing.
The Vande Bharat project is being considered as one of the innovative projects through which the travel duration will be minimized, passenger comforts will increase and connectivity between the regions will also be enhanced. It will serve thousands of commuters in Jharkhand, in particular, between Ranchi, Jamshedpur, and Kolkata as soon as it becomes operational.
With work picking up pace and the tracks cleared, Jamshedpur is going to become an entry point into India into the growing high-speed rail network. Its bulldozers have brought down buildings, but what replaced these is the high-speed and interconnected future of the area.
