Team Herald
VASCO: RDA Minister Alina Saldanha has claimed that the proposal by South Western Railways (SWR) to lay parallel railway tracks from Cansaulim to Velsao (as part of proposed 407-km double line from Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Tinaighat to Vasco) is not feasible at all.
She said that several heritage houses located nearby to the existing railway line are already getting affected due to the vibrations caused by the running trains and having another line, close to these heritage houses would further worsen the scenario.
Alina was speaking to reporters on Friday after inspecting the areas along the railway route from Cansaulim to Velsao under SWR.
The inspection was called to check as to how many houses will be affected by the railway’s double tracking of the route.
Senior railway officials including Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM) Ramesh Chandra, Mormugao Deputy Collector Gaurish Shankhawalkar, panchas from Cansaulim-Arrossim-Cuelim Panchayat, besides large number of villagers were also present for the inspection.
Before starting the inspection, the railway authorities briefed Alina that they have identified few patches where railways would require more land (from 5 metres to 9 meters) from their existing boundary. They also explained to her that only the compound wall of few houses need to be demolished to lay the parallel track, and the houses would not be untouched.
“It’s not that I am objecting for the sake of objection, but I have been objecting for the parallel track, because it is not possible at all. First of all, the railway authorities failed to provide any infrastructure; even the demand for foot over-bridge for people living in the Bhutem-Vaddo ward in Cansaulim was kept pending by railway authorities, leaving the villagers to cross the railway tracks by kneeling beneath the coaches of goods and passenger trains parked at the station,” she said.
