HAFLONG, Oct 1 - Demanding running of passenger trains from New Haflong to Guwahati city, preferably from October 5 onwards, several apex bodies, besides others have submitted a memorandum to Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways at the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi through the Deputy Commissioner of Dima Hasao on Wednesday.
The Dima Hasao apex bodies led by Jadikhe Naisho Hosom (JNH), stated that while appreciating the Union Government�s endeavour in bringing tremendous change in Indian Railway services in the greater interest of the people, we on behalf of several organisations of Dima Hasao, a tiny but beautiful hill district of Assam, would like to put forward a few lines for favour of your kind perusal and immediate action thereafter.
As you are aware of the fact that the North East Frontier Railway has completed the Lumding�Silchar BG project before March 31, 2015 under the initiative of the present Government at the Centre, and the NFR has been running goods trains on this route regularly, it is also learnt that CRS inspection has been done with satisfaction, the memo stated.
In fact, this Lumding�Silchar BG conversion project was started way back in 1996, but due to lackadaisical attitude of the then Government, the project suffered a lot, thus causing immense difficulties to the people of Dima Hasao and entire Barak Valley. There was no direct communication in between Haflong and Guwahati, the State capital of Assam, following which patients, students and others suffered a lot.
The people of Dima Hasao as well as the people of entire Barak Valley, besides Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura solely depend on this Lumding�Silchar route since the quality of surface communication, i.e., roadways, is pitiable.
�As we are aware that you have a soft corner for people like us, who have been suffering due to lack of proper rail communication, we hope that our plea would not fall on deaf ears.�
Therefore, under the above circumstances, we on behalf of all the frontline organisations of Dima Hasao fervently request you to kindly use your good office and direct the NFR authority to run passenger trains from New Haflong to Guwahati, preferably before October 5 next, which would be beneficial not only to the people, but also for the Railway authority, the memo pleaded.
However, if our just demand is not heeded to by the Railway authority, then the aggrieved people of Dima Hasao would have no other option left but to launch a vigorous long-drawn agitation in the near future so to wrest their due, the memo mentioned, as a matter of forewarning.
If and when a situation arises for taking up an agitational programme, the people of Dima Hasao cannot be held responsible for the outcome, they added.
