Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in a letter, has urged Railway Ministry to withdraw its proposal of converting the 176-km metre gauge railway line between Akola and Khandwa into broad gauge.
In a letter to the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Thackeray said that an alternative alignment outside the Melghat Tiger Reserve was in the interests of wildlife conservation in general and protection of the tiger habitat in particular.
Thackeray further said “Considering the long term irreversible impacts of gauge conversion on endangered species like the tiger and their habitat, it would be appropriate to focus on alternative alignments which would not only ensure much-required space for the wildlife but also bring railway connectivity and economic development to hitherto unconnected villages located in the Jalgaon-Jamod and Sangrampur talukas and benefitting almost 100 villages in the vicinity of the alternative alignment.”
Thackeray in his letter quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had said “ Conservation of Tigers is not a choice but an imperative.”
Outlining his rationale for realignment, he wrote “The proposal includes open cutting of tunnels which involves cutting and blasting of rocks using heavy machinery and explosives. It also involves re-alignment away from the existing track to ease sharp curves on 23.48 km out of a total length of 38 km passing through the core area of the tiger reserve.”
“This amounts to realignment and not just gauge conversion along the existing tracks,” Thackeray wrote.
He added “The proposed gauge conversion works between Akola and Khandwa passing through the core area of Melghat Tiger Reserve will result in a substantial increase in railway traffic in the long run leading to a huge disturbance in the core areas of the Melghat Tiger Reserve.
“Along with increase in the railway traffic, it would also lead to increase in speed of the trains, restrictions on future expansions and modifications and increase in pollution along the track,” Thackeray observed.
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The Maharashtra Chief Minister added that wildlife had significantly increased in the core areas after it had been made inviolable by rehabilitating 13 villages. Of this, six villages were within 10 km of the existing railway line and that the project would reverse the benefits of rehabilitation and habitat development.
The Akola Khandwa Route Metre Gauge Alignment
The 176-km distance between Akola and Khandwa railway line passes through the Gqawilgarh Hills of the Satpura ranges in Deccan plateau in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
(Map for illustrative purposes only)
Major bridges on the metre gauge line include the Purna river bridge between Ugwe and Patsul, Wan river bridge between Wan Road and Dhulghat and the Tapti river bridge between Ratnapur and Tukaithad.
There are three tunnels, two of them between Dhulghat and Wan and the third named Wan tunnel between Wan Road and Hiwarkhed. In addition there exists a spiral nearly two km long between Dhulghat and Wan Road.
Table 1: Akola Khandwa Metre gauge alignment chainage
| Km | Station | Station Code |
| 0 | Akola | AK |
| 12 | Ugwe | UGWE |
| 35 | Patsul | PTZ |
| 46 | Akot | AKOT |
| 57 | Adgaon Buzurg | ABZ |
| 68 | Hiwarkhed Halt | HKR |
| 77 | Wan Road | WND |
| 93 | Dhulghat | DGT |
| 102 | Dabka Halt | DBKA |
| 113 | Tukaithad | TTZ |
| 118 | Ratnapur | RNU |
| 123 | Amlakhurd Halt | AMX |
| 141 | Gurhi | GUX |
| 151 | Jirwan Halt | JRWN |
| 160 | Mordar | MRDD |
| 176 | Khandwa | KNW |
The famous Akola-Khandwa Railway Line Spiral at Dhulghat
Curves on metre gauge are usually sharper than those on broad gauge track. A case in point is a spiral between Dhulghat and Wan Road stations on the existing metre gauge alignment.
Shaped like the number 4 in Devanagari script (chaar ka aankda as it is called by the locals), this spiral is over close to two km long where the railway line goes above itself in order to gain height.
The spiral is situated between km marker 652/14 and 654/10 and passes through forest areas and rock cuttings. For instance, re-doing this spiral on a broad gauge is likely to be a challenging task for Indian Railways.
The Akola Khandwa Railway Line Gauge Conversion Project
This project was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 2,067 crore in the year 2008-09. The gauge conversion of the Akola -Khandwa section was divided into three parts:-
1. Akola -Akot
2. Akot- Amlakhurd
3. Amlakhurd – Khandwa.
Works on the first portion between Akola and Akot are on. South Central Railway meanwhile has already completed yard re-modelling at Akola last week.
The second portion of the gauge conversion project between Akot and Amlakhurd goes through the Melghat Tiger Reserve and requires diversion of 160.94 hectares of forest land.
The third portion between Amlakhurd and Khandwa is yet to be taken up for conversion.
National Board of Wildlife Stance on Akola-Khandwa Gauge Conversion Project
In this matter,the National Board of Wiildlife on January 3, 2017 ruled that diversion of 160.94 hectares of forest land from Wan Sanctuary for Akola -Khandwa gauge conversion works be subject to mitigation measures and other conditions as may be suggested by the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) with assurance of implementation through MoU.
In 2018, two applications against this decision were filed before the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court.
NTCA said that 35 km of the proposed line fell inside the Melghat Tiger Reserve. Of this, 18 km passes through the core area of the tiger reserve and would fragment the critical tiger habitat.
NTCA added that alternate alignment surveyed by the railways which bypassed the tiger reserve could facilitate greater economic development of the region by connecting the 29 villages and large population living in the area. WII also felt the same.
Alternative Alignment for Akola Khandwa Gauge Conversion Project
The new alignment will go via a new station for Hiwarkhed, then towards Sonala, Usarni, Khaknar, Khikri onwards to Tukaithad and Ratnapur.
(Map for illustrative purposes only)
Indian Railways Concerns
A new alignment between Akot and Amlakhurd via Khaknar would mean cost escalation for the railways. It would mean abandoning the existing alignment between Akot and Tukaithad besides construction of a new alignment through hilly terrain which includes a tunnel 6.65 km long.
Railway officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said that costs would escalate from anywhere between Rs 800 and Rs 1000 crore over and above the sanctioned cost in case the alternative route is taken.
For now, the jury is still out on the issue.
Melghat Tiger Reserve: A snapshot
The Melghat Tiger Reserve’s official website in its brochure lists the following:
Melghat Tiger reserve is spread across the districts of Amravati Akola and Buldhana in Maharashtra. The total area of the reserve is 2768.52 square km. Of this, 1500 km is in the critical tiger habitat. The remaining 1268.62 square km is a buffer area.
It consists of the Gugamal Natioanl Park(361.28 sq km) ,Melghat(788.75 sq km) , Wan (211 sq km) , Ambabarwa (127.11 sq km) and Narnala (12.35 sq km) sanctuaries.
The reserve is home to 15,000 people mainly Korku tribals and 30,000 livestock.
Fauna includes 80 species of mammals, 294 species of birds, 54 species of reptiles. Flora includes 90 species of trees,66 species of shrubs, 316 species of herbs, 56 species of climbers and 99 species of grasses.
Photos: Nitin Master, Vivek Pillay, Raghavendra Rao
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The issue of wild life, pollution and tribals lie style are very crucial. Instead, alternatively other route to be designed and work out in shortest time line.
Cost escalation is temporary, but above mentioned problems will have permanent effect.
SAVE FORESTS, SAVE ENVIRONMENT
We can’t belive that meter gauge is not bad for forest and broadgauge is 👌👌👌👌👌