Silchar May 16: In a major development, following the initiative undertaken by the NF Railways, the Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted at least 119 passengers from the Silchar-Guwahati train which was stranded at Ditokcherra in the Dima Hasao district due to a heavy deluge following torrential rain.
"So far 119 passengers stranded at Silchar-Guwahati train number 15616 have been airlifted to Kumbhirgram Air Force base in Silchar. Our prime concern is to evacuate all stranded passengers from the spot now. Apart from airlifting, stranded passengers have also been evacuated from Ditokcherra by trains in two groups- 1,245 in one group and around 250 in another. Further, 373 passengers from New Haflong were rescued. Also, 345 more passengers from Ditokcherra have been evacuated on Monday. Only a handful passengers are left who will be evacuated today. With this we should be done with the evacuation of all the passengers," CPRO NF Railways Sabyasachi De told The Assam Tribune on Monday.
Meanwhile, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli informed on Sunday that the passengers were airlifted and brought to the Kumbhirgram IAF base here. "All the evacuated passengers were given refreshments and later buses were arranged by us to take them out to the city. We are already reeling under the floods and Meghalaya water running off is affecting Katigorah and Dima Hasao affecting Borkholla. Road connectivity has been disrupted in Balacherra and trains are being stranded at Ditokcherra all simultaneously. We had to mobilise manpower immediately and also reached out to SDRF, NDRF, Assam Rifles, BSF and the Indian Air Force as many areas needed attention. We thank all organisations for their support. We are requesting people to avoid travel as much as possible as MET is predicting turbulent weather for the next 10 days," the Cachar DC maintained.
