SILCHAR, April 9 � The All Cachar Karimganj and Hailakandi Students� Association (ACKHSA) and All Dimasa Students� Union (ADSU) have joined hands with Mizo Zirlawi Pawl (MZP) in order to unitedly demand expeditious completion of Silchar-Lumding BG and East-West Corridor and to make the movement stronger by involving student and youth organisations of Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and North Cachar Hills.
Rupam Nandi Purkayastha, president of ACKHSA, ,said that the objective behind the unified stand is to pressurise the Centre and the State Government of Assam for effective and time bound action plan for the implementation of the two important projects which is essential for improving communication in this remote and backward region of the country.
Nandi Purkayastha assumed that involvement of student and youth organisations of the States may bring the rail and highway projects into focus since in the event of their completion the States of Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur would also be benefited which will give a further boost to their socio-economic development. The surface connectivity would be a more dependable alternative to the existing MG rail link and the National Highway 44.
Nandi Purkayastha further pointed out that the Tripura-based Students� Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) have been taken into confidence and their leaders have agreed to lend support to the movement. He recalled his meeting with the Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, who had already taken up the people�s cause with the Centre.
ACKHSA would also extend its support to All Manipuri Students� Union (AMSU) to press the Railway Ministry for taking up the completion of Jiribam-Imphal railway line which has been declared as national project. ACKHSA leaders in the meantime have met their counterparts of MZP in Aizwal on both the issues. A MZP delegation led by its vice-president S Lalrinawma came down to Silchar recently and assured their participation in any agitation programme. Nandi Purkayastha added.
Lalrinawma admitted that the extension of BG up to Silchar would pave the way for further alignment which would connect Aizwal as the proposed extension of rail head is from Bhairobi to Sairang. Along with the conversion of Silchar-Lumding MG into BG, the existing Silchar-Jiribam MG track as well as Badarpur-Bhairobi MG link are also to be taken up for gauge conversion. Rupam Nandi Purkayastha is confident that the joint movement alone would cause implementation of rail and highway projects possible.
