Byrnihat railway project faces another hurdle

SHILLONG, Aug 21: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) mulls terminating the Tetelia-Byrnihat project somewhere on the Assam-Meghalaya border but is facing land issues.
The project in Meghalaya has remained stalled for the past few years due to opposition from some pressure groups. They want a foolproof mechanism first to check the influx of illegal immigrants.
A senior railway official said the NFR is contemplating on closing the project inside Assam but facing a challenge due to unavailability of land.
“Since the pressure groups are protesting against the project in Meghalaya, we had thought of constructing a small railway station somewhere near the Assam-Meghalaya border and close the project but we don’t have enough land here,” the official said.
The work on the Assam side of the Tetelia-Byrnihat railway line is going on smoothly and nearing completion.
Sources said the NFR tried its best to hold discussions with the pressure groups but they are not even willing to meet its officials.
Two months ago, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had held a meeting with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw but what transpired there is not known, the sources added.
The pressure groups have made it clear they can discuss the railway project only after the implementation of the Inner Line Permit or any other similar mechanism to protect the state’s indigenous communities. The Tetelia-Byrnihat railway line is supposed to be 21.50 km long of which 19.25 km will be in Assam and only 2.25 km will be in Meghalaya.
As part of the project, seven major bridges will be constructed, the longest of which will be 350.5 metres. Six tunnels, measuring a cumulative length of 3.733 km, will be constructed. The longest tunnel will have a length of 1.760 km and there will be two railway stations on the route.
The railway station building at Kamalajari in Assam has already been commissioned. Given the stand of the pressure groups, the Byrnihat-Shillong railway line remains a distant dream.
Mendipathar is the only railway station in Meghalaya. Currently, one passenger train operates from there.
The sources said the flow of passengers on this route is quite low and there is no demand from the state government for additional trains.