Three MLAs ignored
Three parliamentary secretaries from North Garo Hills were sidelined during the inaugural function of rail service from Mendipathar to Guwahati on Saturday. No sitting arrangement was made for the trio — Mendipathar legislator Marthon Sangma, Kharkutta MLA Cherak Momin, and Bejengdoba legislator Brigady Marak. The supporters of these legislators said the first two rows were occupied by the Meghalaya Government officers. Sources said that there is apparently a breach of protocol and privilege as no attention was given to these legislators. Moreover, there was no protocol officer attached with them. Finally, concerned over their plight, the North Garo Hills district police chief managed some plastic chairs for the parliamentary secretaries who finally sat in the last row. Annoyed over this, the legislators have decided to meet the Chief Minister to bring the matter to his notice.
Three languages
Three languages were spoken during the inauguration of Mendipathar rail service on Saturday at Maligaon, Assam. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi preferred to speak in Hindi, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi spoke in Assamese. However, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma chose to speak in English instead of the regional language Garo.
A forgotten rail line
While Meghalaya is now in the rail map of the country with the start of Mendipathar rail service ,the hill station had already witnessed the first rail journey around 126 years ago though the rail service was short lived . The people of Sohra and the adjacent border areas on June 16, 1886, had travelled in a railway built by the British connecting Taria in Meghalaya and Companyganj (Sylhet) covering 2.1 km meter run by Cherra Companyganj State Railways (CCSR). The track was destroyed by the earthquake of 1897 resulting in the closure of railway from 1900.
Cheapest fare
For just Rs 30, the passengers from Mendipathar can reach Guwahati covering a distance of 130 km with 12 halts including Kamakhya junction. It will take 4 hours to reach Guwahati. If a passenger takes a shared sumo to reach Guwahati from Mendipathar, the fare is exorbitant. The train will leave Mendipathar at 7 am daily and will reach Guwahati at 11 am. The same train will start from Guwahati at 6.10 pm and will reach Mendipathar at 10 pm.