DOOMDOOMA, Sept 8 - A four-member delegation of Makum-Saikhowa (Sadiya) Railpath Suraksha Samity (MSRSS), led by its president Budha Deori and secretary Dhiren Deka, met the Union Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain, at the Railway Guest House in Dibrugarh on Tuesday evening during the minister�s visit to upper Assam and submitted a memorandum to him. The MSRSS demanded extension of the Dibru-Sadiya railway line from Dangari to Saikhowaghat.
It may be mentioned here that the Makum-Dangari portion of the historic Dibru-Sadiya railway line, which was set up by the Assam Railway & Trading Company in 1881, was converted into broad gauge in 2002 and in the Rail Budget of 2012, a proposal was made by the then Railway Minister to extend the line up to Saikhowaghat.
The MSRSS, in its memorandum, urged Gohain to start the extension works immediately and introduce a long-distance mail train from there. The minister was also urged by the Samity to take a special initiative to develop eco-tourism and religious tourism as the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the Parushuram Kunda in Arunachal Pradesh are close to the area.
The MSRSS also urged Gohain to start �tea tourism� in this part of the country by following the example of �wine tourism� in western countries.
The memorandum also stated that from a strategic point of view, it was essential to extend the railway line to Roing in Arunachal Pradesh which borders China.
