Eastern Railway renews efforts to complete Tarakeswar-Bishnupur project

Kolkata: The Eastern Railway (ER) has once again reached out to the people living around the Bhabadighi pond in Hooghly’s Goghat for a quick resolution of an ongoing land-acquisition process for the Tarakeswar-Bishnupur new line project.

The important project has been delayed by several years due to the reluctance of a few landowners to hand over their plots to the Railways.

The Tarakeswar-Bishnupur project has great potential to bring about socio-economic development in the areas it passes through, apart from bringing down the travel time to Bishnupur, an important tourist destination in West Bengal's Bankura district, famous for its terracotta temples and silk sarees.

The route is also dotted with other tourist attractions like Joyrambati and Kamarpukur. While Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was from Joyrambati, Ma Sarada belonged to Kamarpukur. Both locations are now pilgrimage spots, just like Tarakeswar due to its famed Shiva temple.

“This is an 82.47 km project. Tarakeswar is already connected to the Howrah station by a 57 km train route. After completion of this project, the distance between Howrah and Bishnupur will be 139.47 km. At present, the distance from Howrah to Bishnupur along the South Eastern Railway route is nearly 156 km.

"Shortening of the distance will also bring down travel time. Even an EMU local between Howrah and Bishnupur, with stoppages at Kamarpukur, Joyrambati, Baragopinathpur, Maynapur, and Gokulnagar-Joypur, will cover the distance in just three hours as compared to at least five hours by bus. The train fare (EMU local) would be around Rs 30 while a bus ticket costs Rs 150,” said a senior ER official.

The ER now requires just 0.78 acres of land to complete the project that would involve laying 950 metres of tracks.

The Bhabadighi pond spans an area of 17.48 acres of which the Railways requires just 3.05 acres.

Of the 268 landowners, 191 have already handed over plots to the ER. The remaining 77 are yet to do so, despite a Calcutta High Court order in favour of the Railways.

“We shall continue our efforts to convince the local population about the importance of this project and its benefits. We shall also hold a fresh round of talks with the state authorities,” the official added.