Lockdown hurdle to NFR expansion plan

SHILLONG: The plans of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to connect the Khasi Hills region through the rail network have taken a further beating with the ongoing lockdown which has been enforced since March.
An official from the NFR said that they were planning to take up the matter pertaining to the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway project with the Meghalaya government but things could not move forward due to the prevailing situation arising out of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The official made it clear that there was no progress on the Meghalaya section of the project as the state government is yet to accord permission.
It may be mentioned that thousands of natives of Meghalaya who were stranded in different parts of the country are now being brought back to the state with the help of railways till Guwahati from far flung states like Bangalore, Chennai and Gujarat and after Guwahati, the stranded citizens are being brought to the state through buses and other vehicles arranged by the government.
The NFR official said that if the rail line was available till Meghalaya, the stranded citizens would have reached the state with ease and there would not have been any need for authorisation from the Assam government. “Even if goods train was allowed, things would have been much easier for the citizens of Meghalaya especially in times like these,” the official added. When asked if another train would be arranged for transportation of goods and stranded citizens to Mendipathar, the only functional railway line in the state, the official said that the matter depends on the state government.
“If the state government approaches the Northeast Frontier Railway, necessary assistance will be provided to the state,” the official added.
Various pressure groups of the state have opposed the railway project in East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi, fearing that it would lead to large scale influx in the state.