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Rail passengers� demand

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 16 � The Assam Rail Passengers� Association (ARPA) has demanded separation of the Greater Guwahati area from the Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and its merger with the Rangiya Division. Dipankar Sharma, general secretary of ARPA, said that Greater Guwahati area is strategically and commercially the most important region of the NFR zone.

�Earlier it made sense for the Greater Guwahati area to be part of Lumding Division as the nearest division to the west was at Alipurduar. However, the Rangiya Division was created in 2003 and Guwahati and its neighbourhood should have been amalgamated with Rangiya Division. Yet this has not happened though over a decade has passed since the formation of the Rangiya Division,� he said. He said the distance from Guwahati to Lumding is 180 km, while it is a mere 48 km from Guwahati to Rangiya.

�If case of any emergency, officials from the divisional headquarters now need more time to reach the city. Shifting Guwahati to Rangiya Division will lead to better management and punctuality of service,� Sharma said.

He added that after completion of the Bogibeel project and commence of service over the bridge, the areas in the North Bank up to North Lakhimpur should be in Rangiya Division and the areas beyond North Lakhimpur should be with Tinsukia Division. ARPA has also reiterated its earlier demand for bifurcation of the NFR zone.

�NFR should be only for the North Eastern states. The West Bengal portion of NFR should be merged with Eastern Railway and the Bihar portion with East Central Railway,� Sharma said, calling upon the Assam government and the elected MPs and MLAs from the State to take up the issue.

��There are reports that the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway section will be separated from NFR. If that is possible, why not the separation of the Katihar and Alipurduar divisions also from the zone?� stated Sharma.

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