Broad Gauge, Narrow Mind

Dear Uddhavji,
When you as CM of Maharashtra put your foot down against the widening of the railway metre gauge section here, we, the beings of Melghat Tiger Reserve, found tears flowing unabashedly from our eyes. The broad gauging would have brought on untold and unpredictable miseries for all.
As a senior inhabitant of this southern tropical dry deciduous forest, the animals, birds, insects, rivers and nullahs as well as the trees have asked me to thank you for giving us another life.You will find me swaying on the banks of the Wan River that gently flows past a village called Dulghat Railway.
I am an Arjun tree (Termilia Arjuna), native to the area. I grow from seeds that flow downriver and are deposited on the banks, which is where I mostly grow. I am fortunate in that I do not have much market value and am not a target for illicit felling. But, the extract of my bark is still used in Ayurvedic heart medicines.
Can you guess my age? Judging by my girth, I most likely shot through the ground early last century. That’s right, I’m well over a 100; four-to-five people holding hands in a ring would just about be able to ‘chipko’ me. The base of my trunk is like the giant foot of a creature from Jurassic Park. Trying to find my acme will give you vertigo.
Metres away from me stands a British-inspired Indian-engineered stone bridge over which the metre gauge track was laid. I was several feet shorter in 1959 when the Akola-Khandwa railway route started.
Shut your eyes for a moment and imagine a giant green amoeba; this is Melghat Tiger Reserve. If India were a living being, Melghat would be its lung. Everyone knows its value, yet for selfish reasons chooses to ignore the perils of endangering this lung. An amoeba may split and take another form, but any attempt at splitting Melghat will permanently impact its ability to regenerate.
The beings of Melghat hope that the decision to forbid broad gauging is not a political stand and that you, CMji, genuinely mean every word of it. We know you as a mature nature and wildlife lover. Your message on Global Tiger Day recently was applauded not just by tigers but by all carnivores and herbivores of Melghat.
But we must caution you about some danger signs and tricks. The Railways and highway authorities have notorious ways of creating infrastructure. They start construction assuming all environmental sanctions will soon be in place. In Melghat’s case, Akot station is almost ready, metre gauge tracks have already been ripped up and concrete sleepers lie scattered on forest land at many places. The intention is quite clear: The broad gauge project will go ahead. “Oh, we have already spent crores; if you disallow us, it will go to waste”: this will be the Railways’ excuse. Don’t fall for it, Uddhavji.
Much like your visit to Pune to take stock of the corona situation last week, I suggest you and Aaditya — oh! To have a young environment minister — take a helicopter ride to get the real picture of the impending disaster if the Railways gets what it wants.
Melghat Tiger Reserve is one contiguous forest with sanctuaries and parks like Ambabarva at the southern tip followed by Wan, Gughamal, Melghat and Narnala as you move north. The railway line passes through Wan. Broad gauging will bring in more trains running at breakneck speeds and hamper the movement of wildlife. We fear that Ambabarva and Wan will be completely severed from Melghat Tiger Reserve.
From the air, Uddhavji, you will see a lush multi-shaded green ‘vasundhara’ carpet of trees. Their tops sway like the conductor’s baton in an orchestra — at times gentle, at others with vigour. The happy chirping of birds is a soothing chorus. It is monsoon now and the clearwater nullahs seem to be hurrying to keep a date with someone down below.
Carry binoculars. If you are lucky, you will spot tigers, bears, gaurs and deer in numbers pleasantly more than the number of Covid cases in Maharashtra. The railway route passes through tunnels carved through hills and over quaint bridges.
You must be aware, Uddhavji, that the Railways shut down the metre gauge route three years ago with the intention of converting it to broad gauge. Truly, metre gauge serves little purpose when broad gauge can provide enhanced connectivity. More trains can be run at faster speeds, delivering goods and transporting passengers in double quick time. But this will entail cutting down trees, building new bridges, stations, tunnels and what not. It will leave us brutalized.
Uddhavji, you could opt to drive through the forests and meet some of the Aadhaar-card holders. You may bump into Rajiv Kulkarni, a resident of Dhulghat Railway. “The Railways want to convert the existing route as it is a short cut and cost-effective. The alternative alignment will be costly but beneficial in the long run.” And Mangal Kasdekar of Popatkhed village, a frequent visitor to the area will tell you, “Even if the Railways opt for the alternative route, it will benefit me as I can board the train from Tukaithad to visit my in-laws who stay in Mondra in MP.”
After the closure of the metre-gauge rail route, the frequency of two-wheelers has increased on the road through Wan wildlife sanctuary. The forest takes a sympathetic view of this encroachment. Rajpal Gavte from Motakheda village will tell you he used to travel by metre gauge train but now takes a parallel road through the sanctuary to reach Hiwarkhed and Akot, the two big market towns “to meet our requirements”. “There are restrictions on road travel from 6 am to 6 pm,” he will add.
Devi Dahikar will tell you that the alternate alignment will add a few kilometres of travel but not cause an inconvenience. “We can go to Tukaithad via Ranigaon on the Madhya Pradesh side and then take a train to Akot and Akola,” he will say.
Uddhavji, you may want to hear out Murlidhar Chore, the sarpanch of Tunki: “We have absolutely no problem if the line is connected from outside the reserve. It will benefit hundreds of small villages connecting Tier-3 towns like Jalgaon (Jamod), Sonala, Tunki and Bawandir. Earlier, we travelled 35-40 km to Akot-Adgaon to board the metre gauge trains. Train movement will also help farmers to transport produce like cotton, oranges, bananas and other crops.”
You should also interact with people like Vishal Bansod, who is the honorary wildlife warden of Amravati, and Manish Jeswani, an environment lawyer. Bansod will tell you this: “The metre gauge train was used by forested villages like Talai, Barukheda, Somthana and Nagartas. Villagers used to alight at Wan station and walk 4-8 km to reach their villages. All these villages have been relocated outside the sanctuary. So, the basic purpose of working on the same alignment has no meaning.”
Bansod will also tell you that after the train stopped operations in 2017, theft of minor forest produce (MFP) like gum and teak wood became zero. “Many passengers indulged in illicit tree felling and poaching.”
Jeswani will reinforce my thoughts on all-round destruction. “The topography of the area is such that broad gauge is impossible on the existing line.”
Uddhavji, you need to do something that will ensure that no state or central government of any political hue will ever bring up the topic of broad-gauging the Akot-Khandwa route. Perhaps burying a time capsule at the modernized Akot railway station will serve the purpose.
Yours truly,
Arjun Tree