Karmayogi by Ashokan M S

Author:Ashokan M S [S, Ashokan M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789385890291
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-12-23T18:30:00+00:00

Across Treacherous Terrains

The pristine shoreline of the Konkan, its deep forests, rugged mountains and treacherous swamps . . . all posed the greatest challenge to the physical laying of tracks. It was a brave bunch of youth riding on Bajaj’s Kawasaki bikes—dream vehicles for the youngsters of the nineties—that played a significant part in the laying of the Konkan line, tracing out paths for alignment of rails for the biggest infrastructure project of the last century in India.

As soon as Sreedharan was appointed as CMD of Konkan Railway Corporation, the decision to conduct a new survey of the terrain was taken. It was not as easy as it appeared to be. In fact, the task was downright dangerous. Many places along the route had no connectivity at all. No vehicle could get anywhere. Into this situation rode the Kawasaki bikers. Around 400 youth, fresh out of engineering colleges, took up the challenge with the support of Kawasaki. Where regular vehicles could not reach, the Kawasakis would venture, hauling levelling instruments and other equipment across rugged and remote locations. These Kawasakis were specially made to negotiate rough terrain. Fuel for the bikes, and an allowance of Rs 100 a day kept this young battalion going. The ‘bikees’, as they were called, completed the task much earlier than anticipated.

Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) was registered on 19 July 1990. Before Sreedharan’s retirement, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) had designated him to the leadership of the Konkan Railway. The minister for railways announced his appointment, which had the consent of the central ministers. Sreedharan took charge on 30 July. The first thing he did was to prepare a new report immediately, although another report from Southern Railway had been submitted earlier. The alignment based on Southern Railway’s survey had many shortcomings. It had listed many densely populated locations which could have been avoided. It also had numerous technical flaws. The ministry for railways had ordered an engineering survey for rail transportation down the southern coast in 1984. In 1985, the survey, covering 325 kilometres between Mangalore and Madgaon was completed, the success of which became an inspiration to the surveyors to extend it to cover the rest of the Konkan coast. In the end, the report was submitted to the ministry. Pointing to the limitations of the survey, Sreedharan began a new survey. Ever since talks of reviving plans for the Konkan Railway route had begun to brew, there were several studies and surveys done at various stages. The earliest study for the line between Bombay and Goa was done sometime in the seventies. In 1971–72, Southern Railway had done studies for a line between Mangalore and Bombay. A detailed survey was done in 1975–77 for the line between Dasgaon and Ratnagiri. The railways’ survey in 1984–85 was based on all the surveys and studies that had been conducted earlier.

Upon Sreedharan’s instructions, KRCL conducted two surveys, one along the shore and another along the inland area. Based on that, technical modifications were made to the plan in order that the lines could join the existing rail lines at both terminals.

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