SHILLONG, May 1: The railway project in Meghalaya seems to have gone into cold storage as the NPP-led MDA Government, in last three years, has not taken necessary measures to resuscitate the pending project.
It was in 2017 when members of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) halted the construction work of Tetelia-Byrnihat railway line and since then, no measures have been taken to either hold talks with the agitating pressure groups or restart the project.
Sources said that the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has, time and again, approached the state government, requesting the latter to start the construction work, but to no avail.
The sources added that the state government, as it seems, does not want to trigger any fresh controversy by green-lighting the resumption of the construction work.
It may be mentioned that while the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway project is making a steady progress in Assam, the same project work in Meghalaya has been in doldrums.
Earlier this year, the state government had sought a report from Ri Bhoi district administration and asked the latter to dispel the doubts of the opposing NGOs and other stakeholders over the project.
Sources from Railways said that it can help a landlocked state like Meghalaya in terms of reliable and smooth supply of essential commodities, especially at the time of pandemic when supply of essential commodities is becoming a major challenge for many states.
The cost of the proposed 20.5-km railway line linking Tetelia in Assam and Byrnihat in Ri Bhoi is estimated around Rs 496 crore. The length of the track in Meghalaya is 2.5 km.
The KSU, which has been opposing the project tooth and nail, wants the state government to put in place effective mechanism to check influx, including implementation of ILP, before introducing railways in the state.