A total of 26 officials from India will be going to Nepal to provide training to Nepali technicians for the operation of the Janakpur-Jaynagar railway line, according to a contract.
“To bring officials from India, an agreement has been reached between Nepal and Indian Railway Board”, Director General of Rail Department of Nepal, Balram Mishra said.
“We asked for the officials from India in an online video conference held between the Railway Department of India and Nepal. There is a vacancy for various posts in Nepal but no applications have come forward. For now, we will bring officials from India who will also provide training to Nepali officials once the recruitment is done,” Mishra added.
Nepal’s Railways Department has already started completing the procedure to hire Indian officials for a fixed term.
“Indian side is also supportive and they are keen to provide the resources so that the rails (project) could hit the track as soon as possible. We have consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about it. The Board of Directors of Department has given the go-ahead for it, and it would be completed soon when the COVID-19 situation improves,” Mishra said.
For the time being, Nepal will hire Senior Sectional Engineer (one), Station Master (eight), Chief Power Controller (one), Chief Loco Inspector (one), Loco Pilot (one), Deputy Loco Pilot (one), Supervisors (one), Mechanics (one) and Point Man (one) by mid-September.
All the coaches for the broad-gauge railway have already arrived in Bihar but they have not been handed over to Nepali authorities because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Nepal has allocated 84.65 crore Nepali rupees as budget to procure the railway set from India, out of which 20 per cent payment has been made while the remaining 80 per cent will be made after the completion of the project.
Janakpur-Jaynagar railway line, coronavirus