Rail links to be extended
- Kohima, Byrnihat on map NISHIT DHOLABHAI
New Delhi, Jan. 17: The railway ministry plans to bring Meghalaya on its
map and extend its tracks to Kohima in Nagaland during the eleventh five-year
plan, commencing 2007-2008.
The ministry has sanctioned two broad-gauge rail link projects one
from Dimapur to Zubza near Kohima and another from New Ajra in Assam to
Byrnihat in Meghalaya in its supplementary budget for the coming fiscal.
At present, Nagaland has only one railway station at Dimapur. The
Northeast Frontier Railways had announced a survey for the Dimapur-Zubza
project more than two years ago, after which an engineering and topographical
survey was undertaken.
Now that the feasibility of the project has been established, the
railway ministry has sanctioned Rs 850 crore for the implementation of the
40-km line and given a go-ahead for the final location survey for the project.
Zubza, a village on National Highway 39, is 25 km from Kohima.
Sources said the construction of the Dimapur-Zubza project would take at least
seven years to be completed after the final survey because of the tough terrain.
Achievement of the long-cherished dream on this route will be a
tough challenge for our engineers, a senior official said.
The Naga hills are considered young and landslides are common
during the monsoon, rendering the task of constructing a railway line more
difficult, experts on the issue said.
The New Ajra-Byrnihat line, to be constructed at an estimated cost
of Rs 200 crore, will directly connect Meghalaya, to New Delhi.
The North Bank of the Brahmaputra will also be connected through
railways by the end of the eleventh plan, which would mean a possible rail link
to Itanagar for which the Arunachal Pradesh government has been pressing the
Centre.
With these projects coming up, only Mizoram will be left unconnected
by rail.
The Centre has already begun work on the Jiribam-Imphal track, which
will connect Manipur by rail. The link line to Agartala in Tripura is nearing
completion, sources said.
The Planning Commissions prime objective during the eleventh plan
would be to break the sense of isolation prevalent in the Northeast. Railway
ministry officials said several projects would come up in the region over the
next three five-year plans in future.
To meet its objective, the Centre is considering attracting
investments in the infrastructure sector, especially the railways.
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