Historic Bhera railway station in a shambles

The busiest site has turned into a haunted place

RAWALPINDI:

The ancient railway station of Bhera – a city with a history of 2,000 years – which was built 200 years ago during the British era, has completely turned into a ruin.

The train which travelled thrice in a day over a distance of 28 kilometres between Malkwal to Bhera was already stopped.

Due to the negligence of the Pakistan Railways, the bricks, doors and even the foundations of the residences of the station master and other staff were stolen from the railway station.

The furniture, doors, fans and electrical wiring were removed from the main railway station building, passenger hall, canteen, booking office, parcel warehouse, station master's office and the first class passenger lodge.

The railway track also disappeared. Due to the disintegration of the platform, the local people started tying the animals in the railway buildings as the busiest railway station of the past turned into a haunted place.

At first, the trains with steam engines and later diesel engines would leave the Malakwal Railway Junction three times and would reach the Bhera Railway Station after staying at Miyani and Huzoorpur Railway Station.

The trains would carry grains, vegetables and fruits from Bhera along with three coaches full of passengers to their destination.

The Malkwal to Bhera rail link was not only important in terms of passengers and freight, but by getting off at this historic railway station, the tourists would get to know the 2,000 years old history of Bhera associated with Sher Shah Suri, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, Alexander the Great and Raja Porus.

The tourists would seek awareness about the historical gates of Bhera city, its mosques, ancient buildings, unique architecture, schools, monasteries and shrines.

The city of Bhera has a unique reputation across the country for its souvenirs of mehndi, patisa [sweet], sweets made with jaggery, hand-made rugs and other handicrafts. The various neighbourhoods of Bhera including Mohalla Prachgan, Mohallah Sheikhanwala, Mohallah Malkanwala, Historic Gate Palliwala, Laluwala, Chakwala, Kashmiri Gate, and Lahori Gate also have an attraction due to their ancient history. Today, the interest of tourists has been eliminated by depriving this city of a rail link.

Bhera city is a tehsil of the Sargodha district and is also connected with tehsil Bhawal.

The big names of domestic politics belonging to this historic city, who are no longer in this world today, include former prime minister, former Punjab chief minister Malik Feroz Khan Noon, former chief justice of the Federal Sharia Court Pir Karam Shah Al-Azhari, and former federal finance minister Ehsanul Haque.

Member National Assembly Dr Malik Mukhtar Bharat, former MNA Nadeem Afzal Chan, and former federal minister of state for religious affairs Pir Aminul Hasanat are still active in the field of politics.

Suggestions have been sent to the federal government and the railway department to give railway heritage status to Bhera railway station in the style of Golra Railway Station in Islamabad, in which the history of railways along with the history of Bhera Shah should be preserved for the future generations by the members of the national and provincial assemblies belonging to the city.

With the implementation of these suggestions, not only the historical railway station of Bhera will be able to be restored once again but also the history of Bhera city will be highlighted. The proposals state that the 28 kilometres of the railway track from Malkwal Railway Junction to Bhera can be restored and converted into a heritage site to preserve the railway and Bhera's history as a new avenue for tourism development as the history of Bhera will also attract tourists.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2023.