Gopal Prasad Baral
Bardibas, July 2 Implementation of the Bardibas-Janakpur-Jayanagar railway expansion project is being pushed towards uncertainty as the land-related compensation issues remain unsolved. Project’s 18-kilometer section from Bhangaha municipality-based old Bijalpura Station to Bardibas reports no progress due to disputes over the compensation issue. A 14-kilometer track has been readied from Jayanagar to Kurtha of Janakpur and the commencement of railway services here is in the final phase. Similarly, railway construction works from Kurtha of Dhanusha to old Bijalpura Station of Bhangaha municipality, Mahottari is going on, though at a snail’s pace. But the construction from the Bijalpura Station to Bardibas section has been uncertain as disputes regarding the compensation issues are yet to be settled, locals said. The whole project assisted by the Government of India is said to be completed by 2020. But, the compensation issues continued to halt further progress along the Bhangaha-Bardibas section, said Hari Prasad Dahal of Bardibas municipality. “We are gradually losing our hopes to see the railway services here,” he added. Landowners along the Bhangaha-Bardibas section have been demanding compensation on the basis of the current price. Bhishma Kumar Mahato of Bardibas-7 complained that the government has not yet issued a notice calling landowners to claim compensation for their land. Mahato said, “The Department of Railways has kept our land on hold for more than three years. Neither it calls us to take compensation, nor releases our land. It has put us in a problem.” Activities related to railway construction along this section have been obstructed after the compensation for 127 bighas of land kept on hold by the Department has not been distributed. Khadga Bahadur Singh of Bardibas-14 said, “We are ready to take compensation amount if the government called us after determining the compensation amount as per the current price.” Out of 127 bighas of land along Bardibas-Bhangaha section, kept on hold by the Department of Railways, 26 bighas are located in Mithila municipality of Dhanusha district while the remaining is in Bardibas and Bhangaha municipalities. In the meantime, the Department of Railway’s director-general Balaram Mishra has acknowledged that the construction works have been stalled due to the delay in the distribution of the compensation. According to him, the works on the Bardibas-Bhangaha section would pick up speed once the government addresses the compensation distribution issue. “The railway service would be operated on the Jayanagar-Kurtha sector within some months and construction works are in progress on the Kurtha-Bijalpura sector. Compensation for the land acquisition for the construction of the railway track from Bardibas-Bhangaha sector has still to be distributed, the construction works would be expedited once this issue is sorted out,” he said As per the Department of Railways’ schedule, construction works of the railway from Jayanagar to Kurtha would have been completed within 2018, from Kurtha to Bhangaha within 2019 and from Bijalpura of Bhangaha to Bardibas within 2020, and the railway service operated as per this plan. However, railway service has not been operated even in the first section (from Kurtha to Jayanagar) as works could not be completed as per the schedule. The work of expanding the broad-gauge railway had started in 2014. The government of India had provided Rs 7.20 billion for this project. The 51-kilometres Bijalpura (Bhangaha, Mahottari)-Janakpur (Dhanusha)- Jayanagar (India) railway service that was initiated 82 years back was damaged by a massive flood 18 years back. A key bridge at Bighi, Loharpatti in Mahottari caved in due to the flood. After suffering damage due to flood, the railway service was operated only on 29 kilometers from Janakpur to Jayanagar. The railway service on this sector too remains halted since the last six years with the initiation of upgrading works on this sector as well.
