Silchar-Lumding BG: A tale of deep rooted conspiracy
Part I
From our Special Correspondent
SILCHAR, Jan 23: Lumding broad gauge is a tale of deep rooted conspiracy. Who are behind it? Politicians, bureaucrats, transport lobby, Dispur or Delhi. It is a combined force that has taken advantage of the all peaceful but divided people of this valley without any strong leadership. But, why is this conspiracy? It needs no explanation when corruption has come to stay as a part of our body politically and public life.
Records with this scribe show that the conspiracy began in 1983. In order to know about the progress of the then on-going construction work on Silchar- Jiribam, Badarpur-Bhairavi and Dharmanagar- Kumarghat extension of line, I came to meet additional chief engineer, construction, G S Gehlot, in his office near Silchar railway station on September 21, 1983. While interacting with him, this scribe saw on the wall just above his seat a framed information box with a layout of the proposed 236 km long Silchar- Lanka BG involving Rs 600 crore. Gehlot said preliminary engineering cum traffic survey was made and it was under the active consideration of the Railway Ministry. He further went on record to say the project would be completed by 1996.
Almost a year later, this scribe met the successor of Gehlot, R M Agnihotri. On being asked about the Silchar- Lanka BG, he said the existing metre gauge through Haflong would not be disturbed as the BG track would be diverted from Sukritipur. It would avoid the hilly terrain of North Cachar Hills to a great extent and have only 17 tunnels and around 300 bridges. It would connect with the Dibrugarh-Guwahati main line at Lanka.
Quite mysteriously, after all the survey by RITES and even the budgetary provision for Silchar-Lanka BG, it was shelved. Instead, in 1986 some journalists including this scribe were invited to a press meet in the rest house of the railway station were the general manager, construction, of NF Railway when asked about the BG track expressed his total ignorance of the Silchar-Lanka project to our surprise. He came out with a totally different decision of the railways to lay BG track on the existing MG line for which the estimated cost was Rs 654 crore. Clarifying the technical aspects of the project, he said the bridges would be strengthened and that the track would be taken 1ft down inside the tunnels to accommodate the BG coaches. For that as he said the train services would be regulated and it would take 1 year to complete the job.
This planning too was gone with the wind. When Jaffar Sharief became the Railway Minister in 1989 came the most utopian scheme of Silchar-Jogighopa BG link, 600 km of which would pass through Meghalaya. It only evoked laughter in civil society. When the people of Meghalaya are objecting to the extension of 10 km of rail line only from Guwahati to Byrnihat, how can they agree to the passage for Silchar- Jogighopa link? It became clear that it was a project that was neither feasible nor practicable. It was a cruel joke with the people of Barak Valley.It came true.
In April 1996, came Prime Minister H D Devegowda, and Railway Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, with Santosh Mohan Dev, then Union Minister, with all fanfare to lay the symbolic foundation stone of Silchar – Lumding BG project in the field of Town Club after addressing a public meeting. It was said by the Prime Minister that this project would be completed by 2002. It dragged on and even after it was declared a national project by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, in the presence of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Railway Minister of the time, in 2004, its fate remains uncertain. An RTI filled by Silchar – Lumding Broad Gauge Rupayan Sangram Committee revealed that the progress so far is to the tune of 50 per cent only and the longest tunnel no 10, 13 per cent. Many things are happening in the jungle. Tunnel no 12 collapsed and with that crores of rupees went down the drain. From all reckoning, the conspiracy continues.
(To be continued)
Source:
http://www.sentinelassam.com/cachar/story.php?sec=2&subsec=12&id=147000&dtP=2013-01-23&ppr=1#147000
