SHILLONG: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced his decision to bring all NE state capitals under national railway network and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is expected to ensure fruition of the proposal, it seems, seeing rails in Shillong in the near future still remains a far fetched idea.
Not just his coalition partners in the cabinet who are not on the same page, the biggest challenge for Conrad Sangma is to bring around the NGOs opposed to project. These youth bodies are in no mood to discuss the issue, unless ILP-type mechanism was put in place to check influx of outsiders.
The Khasi Students’ Union has reiterated that the body was neither going to discuss nor allow railways in the State until and unless a foolproof system was created to check influx in place first. KSU president Lambokstar Marngnar while making his stand clear on the proposed railway project said, “We will not allow railways in any part of the state and we will not discuss the idea”.
Asked for his reactions on some political parties of the State suggesting that at least goods train should be allowed, Marngnar said that the Union will not allow either goods or passenger train as trains run on the same track.
“We totally oppose it and let the state government convince the central government to implement ILP in the State,” he added.
Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma, it may be recalled, had earlier informed that that the project of Indian Railways to connect all capitals of North-Eastern states to rail network by 2023 was an important project and the State government would do whatever required for the project by taking everyone on board.
Mentionably, after NGOs opposing railway project in Meghalaya had violently stalled the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway project which aimed to bring rail line five kilometres inside Ri- Bhoi district. State has solitary rail line from Guwahati to Mendipathar in Garo Hills.
