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Sans railway connectivity, Chamba district remains backward

Despite being one of the richest districts in terms of its natural resources such as forest wealth, medicinal herbs, horticulture, hydropower, scenic and religious tourism potential, Chamba continues to remain backward.

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Balkrishan Prashar

Despite being one of the richest districts in terms of its natural resources such as forest wealth, medicinal herbs, horticulture, hydropower, scenic and religious tourism potential, Chamba continues to remain backward. 

The district is far away from the state capital and it lacks proper road connectivity. Not only this, the distance by road to the nearest railhead (Pathankot) is 120 km from Chamba and it is a five-hour journey, which is too costly for the poor, who visit outside Chamba even for treatment or some other purpose. 

The journey is time-consuming as well. Passengers and tourists face several difficulties if a road gets blocked, as there is no other means of transport.

For the past few decades, people of Chamba region have been persistently demanding the survey and construction of a railway line from Pathankot to Chamba. The railway line will connect all famous tourist destinations of Chamba tourist circuit, but their demand has not yet been fulfilled.

The absence of railway facility irks tourists visiting the region, as the journey from Pathankot, the nearest railhead, by bus through the winding hills is arduous.

“Chamba district is contributing crores of rupees per annum by commissioning four prestigious hydropower projects — Chamera-I, II, III and Baira-Siul power projects, and producing around 1,269 MW power in the national pool annually. But despite this, Chamba is not getting its genuine share,” said Tarsem Bhardwaj, chief adviser, Rural Welfare Society, Samra, of the district, in their representation submitted to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, recently.

Way back in 2003, the people of Chamba had also submitted a proposal to the Centre to link Chamba hill resorts with a railway line from North India’s main railway junction at Pathankot from tourism point of view, but their demand has not been adhered to in the corridors of power so far. Neither any survey has been ordered, nor any sanction has been allocated in the budget to this backward district, said Bhardwaj. 

Prior to Independence, a proposal for laying the railway line from Pathankot to Dalhousie sanitarium and the cantonment was okayed in 1910, but the work could not start due to the sudden demise of Raja Bhuri Singh of the erstwhile princely state of Chamba and the proposal remains pending till date.

To encourage big industries in the district, railway line is a ‘must’ to get the raw material on low cost transportation as most of the people and youth are not employed. But if a railway line is sanctioned, it will be an additional source of income generation for the public from tourism point of view and will also generate revenue for the state government, Bhardwaj said.

The scenic places of the district are visited by a number of tourists and the railway link can add much to their facility thereby giving a much-needed fillip to the thriving tourism industry of this picturesque region.

Being replete with scenic settings, heritage and religious tourism potential, Chamba is widely known in other parts of the country, and can be exploited to a great extent for the benefit of tourism sector and for the livelihood of people engaged directly or indirectly in tourism business if a railway line is constructed.

Except Chamba district, most of the districts in Himachal have either been connected by a railway line or have a proposal to be linked by a railway line in the near future. “If a railway line can be constructed up to Leh-Ladakh and Srinagar, or other interior areas, why not Chamba?” asked locals.

The economy of the hill state thrives on tourism industry with popular destinations such as Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, Chamba and Dalhousie. But surprisingly, Chamba has neither good connectivity nor any rail link.

The railway facility for Chamba can also help in transporting the local agriculture, horticulture produce like apple and other fruits to the nearby markets in the plains, thereby improving the income sources of people of the area and adding revenue to the state exchequer.

District Senior Citizens’ Welfare Society president PC Oberoi has urged the Himachal CM to take up the proposal of railway line with the Centre and get it cleared for carrying out the survey at the earliest.


Chamba district is contributing crores of rupees per annum by commissioning four prestigious hydropower projects — Chamera-I, II, III and Baira-Siul power projects — and producing around 1,269 MW power in the national pool annually. But despite this, Chamba is not getting its genuine share. Tarsem Bhardwaj, Chief adviser, Rural Welfare Society, Samra

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