Wheels of change may bring diplomacy on track

CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION: The rail link will be the journey of the entire Valley towards a better tomorrow.

        

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Budgam: More than 70,000 kms of a rail track which links the entire country could somehow never make its way to Kashmir. Now when it has, we take a look at what it means to the people of the Valley. Another interesting aspect to look into is track diplomacy. Read on...

An Object of Wonder

The entire rail track will take over a decade to complete, but for the people of Kashmir, it is already a mixture of excitement and wonder.

In a country with one of the world's largest rail networks, these are people who have rarely seen a train. But the wheels of change are moving slowly. As the trial run reaches Panchgam, an eager crowd gathers to welcome it. Many have walked for miles to see this coach. And for some, like 70-year old Mohamad Yousuf Wani, it's love at first sight.

He can't believe that anything on two wheels can be this large and accomodate hundreds of passengers.

A resident of Dogripura, Abdul Dar says, Kashmir has never seen a rail. It has come here for the first time and is supposed to be both fast and efficient. People are celebrating. Many of us have not seen a train before. Some people have not even slept in the excitement."

Children wave and stare, but it's eventually left to the parents to ask the curious questions.

A resident of Budgam, Abdul Hamid says, "People are wondering how does it run as there is steering wheel in the hands of the driver, how does it stop, when it moves in one direction the driver is there, then it moves in the opposite direction but how can the driver change directions."

For rail workers like Parshotam Singh, sometimes the crowd's excitement can get difficult to handle.

"Whenever there is a trail run, a huge number of people gather to watch. They have never seen a train before and they try and wave their hands to stop it, or sometimes stand close to the track. They think it's like a bus and will stop by waving hands," says he.

The line from Udhampur to Jammu has been operational since April 2005, and the part of the line from Anantnag to Budgam is to be flagged off soon. The Nowgam station, the biggest in the Kashmir Valley, is getting its final touches, and it is here that many are looking forward to their first train journey.

The economics and excitement aside, one wonders whether this train will ever serve a strategic purpose. Will it be able to bridge the psychological and political divide?

Throwing Open Kashmir

At present, the Kashmir Valley is linked by just one road - National Highway 1A, which is itself blocked for many days during winter. Will the rail link end Kashmir's geographic and political isolation? Political parties say yes, and no.