KL Report
SRINAGAR
Kashmir centre for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS) Tuesday vehemently opposed the proposal of setting up of railway tracks to highly eco fragile areas of Pahalgam and Sonamarg.
Reacting to the ‘ill thought’ demand made by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti with the railway minister, the members of the core group unanimously opined that railway lines to Pahalgam and Sonamarg would ferry manifold number of tourists to these areas severely overburdening the carrying capacity which is already under tremendous stress.
“The proposal if implemented would prove disastrous to the eco system of these areas. The recent floods have proved beyond doubt that railway even in the low lying valley areas has precipitated September floods according to all expert opinions. Kashmir Valley being highly eco fragile cannot sustain such inroads in its territory,” a spokesperson of the KCSDS said in a statement.
“Such plans should not be even thought of. However the KCSDS members felt that instead of giving such disastrous proposals, the real problem which people face today is the heavy presence of traffic on the roads that irks the commuters on a daily basis. It is the duty of the government to find alternative ways of public transportation and explore people friendly and eco -friendly ways to address the traffic mess,” the statement added.
