GUWAHATI, June 3 - The Assam Rail Passengers� Association (ARPA) has called for reorganisation of the divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to bring Guwahati and nearby areas under the Rangiya Division.
�Guwahati and nearby areas should be brought under the Rangiya Division of NFR for facilitating better monitoring. Rangiya, the zonal headquarters of the division, is only 48 km from Guwahati, while Lumding, which is the zonal headquarters of the Lumding Division, is 181 km from here. The journey time from Guwahati to Lumding is three hours,� said Dipankar Sharma, ARPA secretary.
Guwahati and nearby areas are now under the jurisdiction of NFR's Lumding Division.
"Besides, the road connectivity between Guwahati and Lumding is also not good. Railway staff from the Guwahati area will find it more convenient to travel to Rangiya for establishment related issues,� said Sharma.
�Being the hub of all railway activities, traders from Guwahati engaged with the Railways need to visit the divisional headquarters. They will also find it more convenient to deal with Rangiya instead of Lumding. In addition, liaising with Dispur will be easier from Rangiya than from Lumding,� he added.
He said reorganisation of the divisional boundaries will mean that trains running to and from stations like Guwahati and Kamakhya will come under the Rangiya Division, which will help restore punctuality of services.
�Having Guwahati as part of the Lumding Division was justified before creation of a separate Rangiya Division in 2003. At that time, Lumding was closer to Guwahati than Alipurduar, which was the next nearest division. But that justification no longer exists. In the last 15 years, Guwahati has lost a great deal as it continues to remain a part of the Lumding Division,� said the ARPA secretary.
