Railways mulls J&K RPF unit after Ganderbal strike

NEW DELHI: Following the first terror attack on any infrastructure project in J&K, railways is looking at having a dedicated unit of RPF in the Union territory. Nearly three dozen infrastructure projects are under construction in J&K, including railways' 272km Jammu-Baramulla national rail project, which will provide rail connectivity to the Valley with the rest of the country, Zojila tunnel and different highway expansion works.

All these projects are key for improving connectivity to different parts of the UT, accelerating economic activities . These have strategic importance from national security point of view as well. Sources said ensuring security during operation of these projects is crucial considering the Valley had not witnessed such an attack on any infrastructure project.

Sources in railways said the national transporter is working on details of setting up a unit for providing better security to its assets, including stations, tracks and other establishments. They added that the RPF unit may be put under divisional security commissioner or assistant security commissioner. "This will help us in managing safety and security aspects, and also for better liasoning with defence forces and local police," said one of them.

At present, RPF personnel are deployed at zonal and divisional levels. There are 16 zonal offices of RPF across country and their job is to protect the railway assets and passengers. RPF also has a specialised battalion, Commando for Railway Security (CORAS), who are deployed in Left wing extremist and naxal affected areas.

Details accessed by TOI show that 34 highway projects are under construction across J&K.