HAILAKANDI, Sept 15 - The newly selected president of the Hailakandi district committee of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Subrata Nath, has said that the century-old Hailakandi railway station will not be relocated. Instead, it will be upgraded to a B grade railway station as per an earlier announcement of the Government of India. Nath was talking to reporters here after assuming the office of the president of the district unit of BJP.
He informed that Dr Rajdeep Roy, member of the Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC) of the Indian Railways, has already raised the issue of modernization of Hailakandi Railway Station with top railway officials and they have assured that B Grade status of the railway station will be restored.
People of Hailakandi have been demanding upgradation of the infrastructure of the age-old railway station so that it can get the status of a B grade status in true sense of the term.
The Railways had earlier withdrawn the B grade status of the Hailakandi station and had also decided to relocate it to a nearby area of the town.
Passengers continue to face extreme difficulties in the Hailakandi railway station due to lack of various amenities, including a high platform, adequate power supply and sitting arrangements. There is also no computerized ticket booking system in the station and passengers are forced to go to the nearby Silchar station for booking tickets of long distance journeys.
The only passenger train running from Bairabi (Mizoram) to Silchar via Hailakandi is not sufficient to meet the rising demand of the travellers. Besides, there is also a clamour for a change in the timings of the train and introduction of another train in the route considering the rush of passengers, said Dipankar Dutta, general secretary of Rail Yatri Adhikar Suraksha Samiti. He criticized the lackadaisical attitude of the Railway authorities regarding the development of the railway station.
