A new township is being planned in a densely forested and hilly region of central India. A planner argues that laying a railway line there would face more difficulties than in the plains of western Rajasthan. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, comparing the physiographic and construction challenges of both regions.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:36 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Yes, I agree. The textbook states that hilly, forested tracts (like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh) are difficult for railway construction due to high relief, requiring tunnels, bridges, and cuts through hills. Landslides and sinking of tracks are additional hazards, as seen in the Konkan Railway.
In contrast, while western Rajasthan's sandy plains are also mentioned as difficult, the terrain is at least level, making construction relatively easier than navigating steep gradients, dense forests, and unstable hill slopes of central India.
Source: Chapter 7, Railways section
Explanation
- The textbook explicitly lists both regions as challenging but describes hilly/forested areas as facing relief-related issues (tunnels, bridges, landslides) that are more complex engineering problems than sandy plains.
- Examiners expect a direct comparison of the two regions using textbook reasons — don't just describe one region.
- Key terms to use: high relief, tunnels, landslides, sinking of track, sandy plain, level land.
- Avoid copying entire sentences; paraphrase and compare for full marks.