By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 14: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday said the state government will address the concerns of the anti-railway groups and decide how to move forward.
“Connectivity is important today. It is good to see the railway go to Nagaland. We hope for a positive outcome after addressing the concerns of the people,” Sangma said while speaking on the contentious issue of railways in Meghalaya.
Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu flagged off a passenger train that connects Mendipathar in Meghalaya to Shokhuvi in Nagaland via Guwahati.
Shillong would be the only state capital in the Northeast not to be on India’s railway map. The remaining four capitals – Gangtok, Imphal, Aizawl and Kohima – will be connected by a railway in five years.
The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), other organisations and some constituents of the MDA have been vehemently opposing plans to connect Meghalaya, specifically the western half leading to Shillong, with railways. They argued that it will be difficult to check the inflow of “unwanted outsiders” who will come by trains in the absence of any mechanism such as the Inner-Line Permit.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) had in May 2017 put on hold the work on a 22-km stretch from Tetelia in Assam to Byrnihat in Ri-Bhoi. This railhead was to have been extended to Shillong uphill.
The NFR abandoned the project after a violent protest by the KSU. Work in about 20 km of the stretch in Assam was completed long ago.
At present, the only rail link in Meghalaya is Mendipathar in North Garo Hills bordering Assam.
