Land grabbing: Railways to retrieve 310 acres from encroachers
Railways authorities will take cogent measures to retrieve 310 acres occupied by land grabbers in different areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
The decision was taken during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways Sub-Committee which met here with Ramesh Lal in the chair. The meeting was called to inspect the encroached areas in K-P and to devise a strategy to retrieve them from the illegal occupants. The meeting was told that Railways has 17,000 acres across K-P, of which 310 acres have been illegally occupied by the land mafia.
However, Railway authorities have retrieved only eight acres from land grabbers in the province so far. Speaking after the meeting, parliamentarian Ramesh Lal said that measures are afoot to retrieve the encroached land from the illegal occupants.
He maintained that Railways was being developed on modern lines and talks were underway with the US and China to induct the latest technology in Pakistan Railways. He said no effort would be spared to make stand the Railways on its feet once again adding the prime minister has released sufficient funds for the procurement of the locomotives. Damaged locomotives would be repaired with either US or Chinese assistance.
The meeting was attended by MNA Dr Talat Mahesar, MNA Dr Ayub Sheikh, MNA Rahela Baluch, MNA Dost Muhammad Mazari and MNA Muhammad Aslam Bodla.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 6th, 2011.
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The statement was made that the railways must stand on their own feet. This sounds good in theory. However, we must ask the question, do the highways stand on their own feet? Do polluting cargo trucks and busses pay their fair share for the use of the highways? The answer is "NO," they usually do not! Rail transport, for both cargo and passengers, is the most efficient, cheapest, least polluting, safest and comfortable form of transport known to man. If the state does not require highways to make a profit, then it is unreasonable to expect a profit from the railways. Transport is an essential service required in the global economy. If highways are subsidized, then we must also expect to subsidize railways! How many airports have been paid for solely by the airlines?