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Down memory lane: The Hindu
Suchetgarh, Dec 07: The silencing of guns at the borders has come as a godsend for historians, researchers and members of the younger generation.
Suchetgarh, Dec 07: The silencing of guns at the borders has come as a godsend for historians, researchers and members of the younger generation.
The current favourite is the Jammu-Sialkot railway route. In the past few days, people from various parts of the State have thronged the village to get a glimpse of the old railway track. Border Security Force jawans and village elders seem to have taken on the added responsibility of travel guides. One can see people walking through the fields to the zero line looking for traces of the old railway track.
One has look closely to find traces of the old railway track. Pritam Singh of Nai Basti, a nearby village, takes us to his fields and points to the remnants of the railway track.
Hamid Bhat, a resident of Anantnag district, brought his 35-year-old daughter here on Friday afternoon. In the presence of BSF jawans and several onlookers, he vividly described the railway track: "I am coming here after five decades, and although things have changed, I can still recollect the past. I used to travel every day to Sialkot from Jammu on business. The peepal tree stands as tall as it used to do five decades ago. Now it is virtually divided between the two countries and is a reminder of the shared past of the two countries."
The officer in-charge of the Suchetgarh Post Office, S.S. Hooda, said that the office was earlier used for tax collection. The Post Office also collected octroi on items which were transported by road. The Jammu-Sialkot route was the State's lone link with rest of the country. The fare for the two- hour journey was around four `annas'. In those days, anyone travelling by rail from Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi, Lahore, Amritsar or any other Indian city had to board a Sialkot-bound train.
One has look closely to find traces of the old railway track. Pritam Singh of Nai Basti, a nearby village, takes us to his fields and points to the remnants of the railway track.
Hamid Bhat, a resident of Anantnag district, brought his 35-year-old daughter here on Friday afternoon. In the presence of BSF jawans and several onlookers, he vividly described the railway track: "I am coming here after five decades, and although things have changed, I can still recollect the past. I used to travel every day to Sialkot from Jammu on business. The peepal tree stands as tall as it used to do five decades ago. Now it is virtually divided between the two countries and is a reminder of the shared past of the two countries."
The officer in-charge of the Suchetgarh Post Office, S.S. Hooda, said that the office was earlier used for tax collection. The Post Office also collected octroi on items which were transported by road. The Jammu-Sialkot route was the State's lone link with rest of the country. The fare for the two- hour journey was around four `annas'. In those days, anyone travelling by rail from Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi, Lahore, Amritsar or any other Indian city had to board a Sialkot-bound train.