SHILLONG: Nothwithstanding the stiff opposition to expansion of railways into Meghalaya, the State Government has sounded confident that the there would be no more problem for the railways once the State Government addresses the concerns about influx and illegal immigration into the state.
Talking to media persons here, Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong said that the NGOs in Meghalaya were not against the railways but they are concerned about the issue of influx and the Government will bring amendments to the existing acts to strengthen it further during the upcoming Assembly selection
“We will bring amendments in Meghalaya Residents, Safety and Security Act besides we want to strengthen the entry and exit points,” Tynsong said while hoping that there would be no more problems as far as bringing in the rail head once the State Government addresses the concern about influx,” he said.
The railway project between Tetelia(Assam) and Byrnihat(Meghalaya) has remained a non starter even since the KSU halted the work on the project few years back.
Similarly, the plan to connect Shillong through Railways has not fructified as the KHADC has refused to issue NOC for the project
The NGOs who are opposing railways have maintained that the it would bring in large scale influx into Meghalaya and hence they need a comprehensive mechanism to check influx before giving their nod to the Railway project
The Centre is keen to connect all the state capitals of the North Eastern states with railways but the centre’s plans have not found much taker here in Meghalaya as of now.