Protest brews against proposed rail bypass project in UP

Ayodhya (UP), Aug 1 (PTI) The Gaddopur Majhwa village, located in the outskirts of Ayodhya city and is home to over 50 families of retired and active soldiers, is at the forefront of a growing protest against a proposed rail bypass project.

The project, which locals claim will displace thousands of residents in densely populated areas of the city, has triggered a series of demonstrations and appeals to authorities.

The proposal involves building a bypass railway line that will connect the Allahabad-Ayodhya and Lucknow-Ayodhya routes, providing a direct link for freight trains to a goods depot, according to officials.

Local residents, led by BJP corporator Ram Teerath, argue that this plan would completely cover the Gaddopur Majhwa village, affecting homes and agricultural land.

Ram Teerath told PTI that railway ministry chose the shortest possible route to minimise its budget, which he said is coming at the expense of thousands of people. "If the railways had taken a slightly longer route, thousands of people could have been saved from being displaced," he said.

He added that many of the residents have built their homes on loans and are now facing the prospect of losing them.

In a memorandum submitted by locals to senior officials and political leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties, the community appealed for the bypass route to be altered.

"We have submitted the memorandum to officials and political leaders but no one is ready to help us," the corporator said.

The railway ministry had recently issued an advertisement detailing the project, which confirmed that the new bypass line would connect the two existing railway routes directly to a goods warehouse. PTI COR CDN RUK RUK