By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 23: Unlike most of the other Northeastern states, Meghalaya will continue to largely remain without any railway connectivity, barring a few kilometres of track in Mendipathar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang railway line in Mizoram on September 13. This railway line will put Aizawl on the railway map as Sairang is located close to the capital city.
Similarly, the Jiribam-Imphal railway line is expected to be completed soon. The project, earlier scheduled for completion by December 2023 with a budget of Rs 14,322 crore, has faced delays. The vital railway project connecting West Bengal’s Sivok and Sikkim’s Rangpo is expected to be completed by December 2027. The 44.96 km long Sivok-Rangpo project, when completed, would facilitate the connection of Gangtok with the rest of the country via West Bengal.
While the capitals of all the Northeastern states would be connected with railways soon, Meghalaya has chosen to keep Shillong without any railways due to the fears of the pressure groups among other stakeholders that the railways would bring a large-scale influx into the state.
The Meghalaya government has not been able to take any decision on railways, even as the committee of all political parties was constituted earlier this year, but the committee has not even held a single meeting till now. The pressure groups have been opposing the railway as they want a mechanism to check the influx of outsiders into the state.
The state government was exploring the idea of connecting Jaintia Hills with railways, but no such discussions have taken place. The Garo Hills leaders are now demanding an extension of railways from Mendipathar to the interior areas.