SHILLONG: Even as the railway project in Meghalaya is not making any progress due to stiff opposition from the pressure groups, the North East Frontier (NFR) has made it clear that there are no plans to abandon the project.
While the 21 km Tetelia-Byrnihat railway line has not made any progress ever since it was halted a few years back, the railway project in Garo Hills is confined to Mendipathar.
An official said on Sunday that the NFR is looking at the larger picture even if it takes some time for the railways to make entry into Ri-Bhoi-Khasi Hills region.
“If the government had said that they don’t want railways, it would have been a different case and we hope later, the NGOs would feel that railways are needed in Meghalaya,” the official said while adding that government wants railways in the state but they want to take the pressure groups on board.
When asked about the progress of the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway line, the official added that work for around 10 kilometers has been completed in Assam area and work is going on in one tunnel and one major bridge.
“If we had got the permission to work in Meghalaya, we would have put our full force for early completion of the project,” the official added.
While the NFR says that the railways would be of great benefit for the landlocked Meghalaya, many pressure groups are against the project and they first want the state government to implement a comprehensive mechanism to check influx before introducing railways in the state.
As far as Garo Hills is concerned, official said that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma last time had spoken about working on war footing to connect other areas like Baghmara and Dalu with railways but the state government has not submitted any proposals.
