A CORRESPONDENT
DOOMDOOMA: Although North-east Frontier Railway resumed passenger train services gradually in its various sectors after improvement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the train service in its Makum-Dangri sector in Tinsukia district is yet to be resumed to great disadvantages of the commuters. It is in this context that All Assam Students' Union (AASU), Dangri Regional Unit, in association with local people, staged a sit-in for two hours at Dangri Railway station on Saturday.
They shouted slogans against the government's callous attitude towards the people of Assam in general and Tinsukia district in particular in providing railway facilities and demanded immediate resumption of the train service in this section within a week's time. Or else vigorous democratic agitational programme would be launched against the railway authority in its Divisional Railway Manager (DRM)'s office situated at Tinsukia, they warned.
The Makum-Dangri section of NF Railway is an important part of former historic first railway line of Assam - Dibru-Sadiya Railway and was established in 1881 by Assam Railway & Trading Co. Ltd. (ART Co.Ltd.) . The railway line that had Saikhowa as its terminating station had to limit its operation upto Dangri as the track beyond it was devastated by the great earthquake of 1950 and the whole of Saikowa railway station sank below the ground in its wake. The reintroduction of the line upto Saikhowa was never taken up even after passage of 70 years.
The previous meter gauge line between Makum to Dangri was converted into Broad Gauge (BG) under Lumding-Dibrugarh(L-D) project bowing to the persistent demands of the Makum-Saikhowa (Sadiya) Ralpath Surakhya Samity (MSRSS) and the people of the region in the beginning of this century and a passanger train 55911Up/55912 Dn started running from October 30, 2002.
The time schedule of the passenger train was so inconvenient that the commuters were greatly discouraged. Subsequently, a DEMU train was also introduced with no improvement of its time schedule and pretty often its services were withdrawn for some security reasons or others. All the six railway stations in between Makum to Dangri i.e. Barhapjan, Hansara, Doomdooma, Rupaisiding, Talap and Dangri were not reopened even after resumption of train service in BG line since 2002. The rail stations and the staff quarters are in dilapidated conditions due to non-maintenance over the years.
Consequently, there has been large scale encroachments on railway lands and illegal possession of the staff quarters. The railway provided only one Travelling Booking Clerk (TBC) to issue tickets to the commuters in the running train. So he is unable to do his job properly resulting in heavy loss of revenue earnings of the railway.
In view of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the operation of the train was totally stopped for more than two years from now. When contacted Dhiren Deka, Secretary of MSRSS and a former DRUCC and ZRUCC member, said that besides 2012 budget proposal of the extension of the line upto Saikhowa, the then Union Minister of State, Railways Rajen Gohain ordered a survey from Dangri to Roing in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016. But contrary to these declarations, Deka came to know from the officials of DRM office, Tinsukia about no immediate resumption of the operation of the train a few months back. So Deka apprised Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah and MoS (Oil etc) & Dibrugarh MP Rameswar Teli of the matter. But in view of the fact that contrary to other parts of the State the running of the trains - especially the short distance passenger trains - in Tinsukia district is yet to pick up to the extent desired by the commuters, the matter was raised before General Manager N F Railway by MSRSS Secretary through the Secretary of Assam Railway Passengers' Association (ARPA) Dipankar Sarmah. The GM assured to look into the matter. MSRSS Secretary Deka, therefore, in a statement to the press, urged the authority to resume operation of the passenger train in between Dangri to Dibrugarh and beyond up to Simaluguri if possible for better revenue earnings.
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