By: Sawan Khaskheli
BADIN: The Badin railway station was opened 15 August 1904 under part of the North Western state Railway’s expansion program and it is an old of at least one century and 43 years before of the Pakistan’s into existence.
Badin Railway Station connected the people of the Badin with different cities including Talhar, Matli, Tando Muhammad Khan and specially Hyderabad as divisional city. The Badin railway station was a effective mode of communication which helped to increase the trade activities from major cities to small cities and towns of the district Badin.
Unfortunately, as the apathy of the provincial and Federal Government, Badin station was closed for many years and followed the suspension of the railway services in the Pervaiz Musharraf’s regime and 1.8 million population of the district was deprived of the train services and again it was restored in PPP Government in year 2008 and Dr. Fehmida Mirza, MNA, of Badin constituency initiated the restoration of the railway service with estimated budget cost of Rs.150 million among Rs.1.2 million had been spent on renovation work of the railway station and its rest house.
Following the lack of the facilities and lack of interest of concerned authorities this an old railway station now stands ruined and its many of tracks have been destroyed over the years due negligence of railways authorities.
More than 1.8 million population of the district Badin who live in the different towns and cities including Badin, Matli, Tando Bago, Shaheed Fazal Rahu, Talhar and others towns and cities have been deprived of the train services over last 13 years of its restoration. Mostly citizens and traders of the different cities and towns who need a proper way to transport their goods through the train service but from long a decade’s they were compelled and forced to use road transport which forced to travel at exorbitant prices and also is insecure due to rush and faced frequent accidents.
Due to lack of interest of railway authorities and funds, the old railway station is indulged in a dilapidated condition and valuables lying at the railway station including iron, wood and other valuables were being stolen due to lack of the attention and ownership and costly plots of railway station were also being occupied by the occupation mafias of the city.
Moreover, the locals have demanded Federal and provincial Governments immediately to take the notice the dilapidation of an old railway station Badin make arrangements to restore the train service from Badin to Hyderabad as soon as possible and to make it functional again so that citizens have the access to the train services.
