Patna, Two decades after Indian Railways first surveyed the proposed 105-km Nawada–Jhajha new broad-gauge line, not a single kilometre of track has been laid. Concrete survey pillars erected in 2005 still stand in fields and along village roads as silent reminders of a project that has repeatedly raised, and then dashed, local hopes.
The line, intended to connect the chronically under-served southern blocks of Nawada, Jamui and Sheikhpura districts with the Howrah–Delhi main line at Jhajha, was first surveyed in 2005–06. Officials marked station sites, halts and level-crossing locations; maps were drawn up and cost estimates prepared. Residents were told the project would finally bring direct rail connectivity to an area that has relied almost entirely on overcrowded roads and distant stations at Gaya or Kiul and Mallepur.
Yet successive railway budgets have omitted the scheme. Local sources say the project file has been “kept in abeyance” since 2010, with no fresh cost-benefit analysis or revised detailed project report submitted in the past 15 years.
Economic Cost of Inaction
The absence of the rail link continues to impose a heavy economic penalty on one of Bihar’s poorer regions. Farmers in Pakribarawan, Roh, Kauakol and Warisaliganj blocks – known for betel-leaf (paan) cultivation – must transport perishable produce by truck to distant markets in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi, incurring high freight costs and spoilage losses. Traders and small manufacturers face similar disadvantages.
Commuters travelling to Patna, Kolkata or northern India currently face bus journeys of four to six hours to reach the nearest convenient railhead. Passenger traffic potential is considered substantial: pre-feasibility studies in the mid-2000s projected annual ridership of over three million in the fifth year of operations.
Renewed Local Campaign
Frustration has prompted fresh agitation. Last week, Jan Chetna Sah Vikas Manch, a local citizens’ forum, resolved to submit memoranda to the Union railway minister and the sitting MP for Nawada constituency, currently Vivek Thakur (BJP). Members say they will press for immediate inclusion of the line in the 2025–26 Pink Book – Indian Railways’ list of sanctioned works – and allocation of at least a token ₹50–100 crore in next railway budget to restart land acquisition and detailed engineering.
“Three generations have waited,” said Mahendra Prasad Sharma, president of the forum. “If the Centre can fast-track dedicated freight corridors and bullet-train projects, surely a modest connectivity line for one of India’s most backward pockets deserves attention.”
Railway officials in Danapur division, when contacted, said the matter “rests with Railway Board” and declined to comment on possible revival.
