Installation work of railway tracks in the Kulaura-Shahbajpur railway section that resumed is now continuing at a slow pace- FE Photo SYLHET, Dec 30: Suspended for long, the much-talked about work on the reestablishment of the Kulaura-Shahbajpur railway section has resumed recently but the fate of the project has remained uncertain.
As the 5th time extension of the long-desired project ended on 15 December this year, there is no possibility of finishing the work by the Indian contractor this time while the overall progress is still far behind, sources said. Even 50 per cent work has not been completed yet.
An official at the contractor company 'Kalindi Rail Nirman''s project office said that many staff members including the engineers concerned had left Bangladesh after August 05 regime changeover.
They are yet to return, but hopefully they would soon join and resume work in full swing. The project should have another time extension soon, he pointed. Established in 1896, the Assam-Bengal Railway started the Kulaura-Shahbajpur railway section, which ran for over a century. But the Bangladesh Railway (BR) shut it on July 7, 2003 on the plea of loss, putting the residents of a vast region in huge trouble.
Since then, the locals through various initiatives have raised the demand to restore the service through major rehabilitation of the railways.
Accordingly, the government took up renovation work of the whole section at a cost of Tk 1.178 billion (Tk 117 crore) in 2011 with a target to complete it by 2012.
However, in a shifted move, the Indians were involved with the project and it got vast changes after six years in 2017 raising the cost to Tk 6.78 billion (Tk 678 crore) including Tk 5.56billion (Tk 556 crore) loan in LOC India, with rest Tk 1.22 billion (Tk 122 crore) to be given by Bangladesh.
Work was started in 2018 with a target to complete it by 2020, but the Indian company failed even during the 4th extension.
Then they were given 5th extension till 15 December, 2024, but keeping things suspended for long, they resumed setting slippers and track on the Kulaura end just weeks ago, raising hopes among people again.
However, works on a good number of bridges, culverts and station buildings are yet to be done, locals said.
Under the 51 km project, 44.77 km main line along with 7.77 km loop line construction work is yet to be done. Besides, six stations and platforms are yet to be completed.
Contacted, an official at the BR project director's office said, "Around 47.50 per cent work has been done. We have already pressed the Indian contractor for work completion soon. Process is underway to extend time for another term."
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