(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The Indian government is mulling a second rail route that would
connect the northeastern state of Meghalaya with the rest of the
country via Bangladesh, Trend reports The Telegraph India .
Recently, the Katihar division of Northeast Frontier Railway -
one of the 18 railway zones of the Indian Railways -- sent a
proposal to the Railway Board, seeking approval of the project,
sources told the daily.
For many years, the Joint Movement Committee for Corridor (JMCC)
— an apolitical body based in Meghalaya — has been flagging the
demand for a rail route to connect Hilli of South Dinajpur on the
India-Bangladesh border, with Mahendraganj, a bordering town in
Tura district of Meghalaya.
Naba Kumar Das, who heads the JMCC, said he was in the know of
the latest development. The rail route is important for strategic
and economic reasons, he said.
As of now, one has to travel around 600km to reach Tura from
South Dinajpur via Siliguri. But if this route is opened, the
distance will come down to 120km, he pointed out.
“It seems that the Centre has finally accepted our demand. Back
in 2017, the Union ministry of external affairs had carried out a
feasibility survey of the proposed route, and recently, the Katihar
division of the NFR sent a proposal to the Railway Board on it,”
said Das, Trend reports
The proposal says the rail route will enter Bangladesh from
Hilli and move through places like Ghoraghat, Palashbari and
Gaibandha in northern stretches of Bangladesh, move through Jamuna
(as Brahmaputra is known in Bangladesh) and connect Mahendraganj of
Tura.
“The stretch will be electrified. In the proposal sent to the
Railway Board, it has been said that around Rs 7,000 crore would be
required for the project, which includes a 10km bridge over Jamuna
and an overbridge in Hilli,” said a source in the NFR.
Das, along with some other members of the JMCC, met a delegation
of Bangladesh at Zero Point in Hilli on Wednesday to discuss the
proposed railway project.
“We asked them to approach the prime minister of Bangladesh so
that we can meet her next month. We want to request her to see that
all necessary help is extended by the Bangladesh government as the
route will pass through Bangladesh's land,” he said.
As of now, there is only one route that connects the northeast
with the rest of India.
The route passes through New Jalpaiguri, New Cooch Behar, New
Alipurduar and enters Assam.
“In northeast, there are multiple routes which connect different
state capitals and prominent towns. But till date, there is no
other route that enters the region from north Bengal. Considering
the strategic importance of the region, right from the Siliguri
corridor that is also known as chicken's neck (for being the
thinnest part of the Indian subcontinent) to the northeast, a
second rail route to the northeast is essential,” said a retired
army officer.
Tags:
- India
- Bangladesh
- railways
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