7 Trains from (SALE)SALAR to (KDPR)KUMEDPUR

-It is step-well which is nearly 200 years old.

-The well  roughly yields 1 lakh liters of water per day

South Central Railway has rejuvenated the 200 year old Heritage Well at Zonal Railway Training Institute (ZRTI), Moula-Ali, Secunderabad, in tune with the emphasis laid by Ministry of Railways towards conservation of water and revival of water bodies. The well has been catering to the water requirements of the Zonal Railway Training Institute for over five decades. The project was undertaken with a cost of approximately Rs. 6 lakh and is expected to generate substantial savings of around Rs. 5 lakh per month.

            The heritage well which has a depth of about 50 ft. is yielding 1 lakh liters of water per day which is catering to the water supply needs ZRTI, Supervisors Training Centre (STC) and Territorial Camp (TA) office in the area. Rain Water harvesting pits have also been provided in the surrounding areas which will help to reduce rain water runoff and facilitate water conservation.

In addition, the well has been covered with Nylon mesh which helps to keep the water clean by preventing falling of leaves or other materials into the water. While pumping the water, manual chlorination is also being used to ensure supply of uncontaminated water. Maintenance and cleaning of the heritage well is being undertaken o­n regular basis. Beautification of the heritage well has been undertaken with fresh painting and decorative LED Lightings.

            Shri Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, South Central Railway appreciated the initiative undertaken by Hyderabad Division and ZRTI for revival of the heritage step-well. He stated that South Central Railway is committed towards environmental conservation and is continuously implementing several green initiatives and eco-friendly plans of action, in this regard. He stated that the revived heritage well will adequately serve all the domestic water requirements of ZRTI and also the surrounding offices (STC and TA Camp).

Historic significance:-

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways o­n 3^rd February, 2023 held an interaction with media persons of Northeast virtually from New Delhi in connection with the Railway Budget 2023-24. Shri Anshul Gupta, General Manager of N. F. Railway and senior railway officials of Headquarters were also present. Similar programme was also held in all the divisions of N. F. Railway where Divisional Railway Managers were participated. Media persons from different places joined virtually. While addressing the media persons, the Minister of Railways informed that a capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways. This year allocation is the highest ever outlay which is about 9 times outlay made in 2013-14 and 51% more than the last year.

The Minister of Railways said that 59 stations in Northeast to be developed with world class amenities/facilities. Keeping in view the heritage concept of ‘Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi’, he informed that 310 old train coaches will be converted to LHB coaches for better riding experience and comfortable journey for the passengers. During last year, 445 KM of railway tracks have been electrified in Assam. 15 station each in all divisions of NFR to be developed under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

During the interaction, the Minister informed that adequate fund has been allotted for overall development of railway infrastructure in all North Eastern states. For the first time, an amount of Rs. 1.20 lakh crore has been earmarked for connecting the hilly and border areas.

Moreover, the Gross Budget Allocation for N. F. Railway for the FY 2023-24 is Rs. 10,988.80crore. It is 13.75% more than previous year’s allotment (Rs 9,660.14 Crs). The allocation for North-eastern states is Rs. 10,269 crore which is about Rs. 300 crore higher than the last year.This year budget allocation shows unprecedented growth in several segments like new line and doubling projects, track renewal works, traffic facilities, road safety works, bridge works, signalling, workshop modernisation and customer amenities etc. Around Rs. 6591 crore has been allocated for new lines while it is Rs. 1364 crore for doubling of railway tracks. The Minister of Railways also informed that total railway infrastructure projects of Rs. 75,795 crore are going o­n in entire North-eastern region.

Adequate allocation has been made for early execution of all the o­ngoing works. Around Rs. 1100 crore has been allocated for Dimapur - Kohima new line projects while Rs. 800 crore is earmarked for execution of the Jiribam - Imphal new line projects. Other capital connectivity projects in the North-eastern states such as Sivok - Rangpo new line projects in Sikkim gets Rs. 2350 crore while Rs. 915 crore has been allocated for Bairabi – Sairang new line projects in Mizoram. Among other new line projects, Rs. 200 crore for Agartala – Akhaura international connectivity project between India and Bangladesh and around Rs. 700 crore is allocated for Araria – Galgalia project.

Rs. 600 crore for New Bongaigaon – Rangiya – Kamakhya and Rs. 500 crore for New Bongaigaon- Goalpara – Kamakhya have been allocated for speedy execution of the o­ngoing track doubling works. Moreover, Rs. 115 crore has been allocated for the doubling works between Katihar – Kumedpur and Katihar – Mukuria sections to further improve train connectivity to and from Northeast.

It is to be mentioned here that Agthori station near Guwahati will be redeveloped with world class facilities at a cost of Rs. 517 crore.