The Firozpur Division of the Northern railways has issued an order to
demolish the heritage DRM Office in the city built during the British era.
Earlier it was planned to transform the DRM building into a division-level
museum in the city. What equipment was brought into use by the British to run
the Locomotives, was decided to put on display in the museum. The senior
officials have now decided to demolish the building in the entire complex.
The construction of the museum in the same place would have ensured the iconic
legacy of the great Indian Railways. The museum would have generated wealth for
the railways and the development of the city. Hussainiwala border has a Martyrs Memorial,
which attracts a lot of tourists. In the year 2006, a new DRM office was
constructed and after the shifting was done, this site is abandoned.
In the year 1905, railway tracks were laid down in the entire state of
Punjab. However, in some places between Multan-Lahore-Amritsar in 1865, whereas
between Ganda Singh Wala (Pakistan Railway Station)-Hussainiwala Border (Indian
Railway Station) in 1886 the railway track was laid down and it was the same
time when the British had established the Rail Division Office in Firozpur. This
building is a sort of heritage for the Indian Railways, which should have been
preserved but now has been ordered to demolish.
In the year 2009, the railways started to collect and gather the old
heritage goods associated with the British era. These goods and equipment were
kept in several stores and guest offices on the premises. The engineering
department demanded photographs of these goods, whereas certain equipment was
collected from the stations of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, and
some other stations in existence from the British era.
Some of these antique
items include the ground leveler to check while laying the tracks, Lamps used as
a Train signal, Road Roller, Engines that functioned on coal, equipment to measure
temperature, huge bells on the stations, mixers, and other such things. Several such antique items were to be kept in the museum which was
decided to be made. A separate team was to be made for this, but owing to the
lack of staff the plan was aborted midway. In the DRM office, there is also a
record room made during the British era that preserves the documents of British
India. This record room is 60 years old, where the files and documents from 1924
can be found.
The retired officer from the Railways Engineering department and
investigative writer, Rakesh Kumar says, he was discharged with the
responsibility of gathering the old antique items of the railways from the
British era. He put forward photographs of several relevant materials from
stations all around the state and region in existence from the British period. The
picture included the evidence of the entities available at the signal
department, control room, and other railway departments.
The officers at the
Railways department have scheduled the dates for demolishing the heritage site. The
auction of its debris is scheduled to take place on the 21st of July.
It is to be noted that the former DRM of Firozpur had initiated the task of
removing the historic railway tracks laid in between the borders of Firozpur
and Hussainiwala, which was halted after the people of Firozpur demonstrated
against it. These historic tracks are the witness of the brutal killings during
the partition which saw the arrival of the trains from the newly created
Pakistan that consisted of bodies of several innocent Indians who were left in
Pakistan after August 15th, 1947.