Mathura residents protest against plan to replace Mathura-Vrindavan railway line with road

Local resident Deepak Parashar who participated in the protest criticised the government's decision to scrap the train, which he described as ‘a gift from the Maharaja of Jaipur.’

Mathura residents have held a demonstration against the proposed project to replace the 15-kilometre Mathura-Vrindavan railway line with a road.

During a rally held on Wednesday, they shouted slogans against the Tirth Vikas Parishad and local MP Hema Malini, and demanded that the historic railway line be restored.

Local resident Deepak Parashar who participated in the protest criticised the government's decision to scrap the train, which he described as "a gift from the Maharaja of Jaipur." "We will oppose any move to erase the heritage of Vrindavan," he asserted and specifically blamed MP Hema Malini and the administration for halting the railway line.

Neelam Goswami, another local resident, said, "We want our train back. They are not concerned about basic things, they want to ruin Vrindavan." Phooldol Maharaj of Chatur Sampraday, who also attended the rally, echoed similar sentiments.

Meanwhile, Hema Malini rejected the allegations laid against her.

In a written response to PTI, she explained that the Railways had decided to undertake the conversion of meter gauges to broad gauges in 2016, and decided to halt its operation in the Mathura-Vrindavan stretch, citing costly repair as the reason.