Banihal July 6: The construction work on the railway tunnel number 77D in Banihal area of Ramban district resumed on Tuesday after around 18 hours after a team of local administration and railway officials visited the houses damaged due to blasting inside the tunnel last evening.
The locals from Channar locality of Bankoot village of Banihal last night stopped the construction work on the tunnel, part of the Katra-Banihal railway section of the mega Kashmir railway line after the blasting which happened at around 8 PM.
The affected house owners also held a protest to demand compensation for their damage caused to their houses due to the blasting.
A team of officials including Tehsildar Banihal, Sheikh Javaid Ahmad, SHO Banihal, Naeem-ul-Haq, DGM IRCON International, Avatar Krishna, AGM IRCON, Swami Nathan, Executive Engineer Northern Railways, Rakesh Kumar, railway tunnel construction company ABCI’s Project Manager, Nadeem Shamas Wani and local Sarpanch, Muhammad Ilyas Wani visited the area today to assess the damage caused to the houses.
AGM IRCON, Swami Nathan while acknowledging the damage to the houses, told Greater Kashmir that his team had reviewed the damage while adding that a committee already set up by Deputy Commissioner Ramban in this regard will visit the area soon.
On the occasion, Tehsildar Banihal, Sheikh Javaid Ahmad assured people that the compensation files would be prepared after estimating the damages.
After the assurance by the officials, the agitating locals allowed the resumption of construction work on the railway tunnel no 77 D after about 18 hours.