The Telegraph
New Delhi
The railway ministry plans to bring Meghalaya on its map and extend its tracks to Kohima in Nagaland during the eleventh five-year plan, commencing 2007-2008. The ministry has sanctioned two broad-gauge rail link projects — one from Dimapur to Zubza near Kohima and another from New Ajra in Assam to Byrnihat in Meghalaya — in its supplementary budget for the coming fiscal.
At present, Nagaland has only one railway station at Dimapur. The Northeast Frontier Railways had announced a survey for the Dimapur-Zubza project more than two years ago, after which an engineering and topographical survey was undertaken.
Now that the feasibility of the project has been established, the railway ministry has sanctioned Rs 850 crore for the implementation of the 40-km line and given a go-ahead for the final location survey for the project.
Zubza, a village on National Highway 39, is 25 km from Kohima. Sources said the construction of the Dimapur-Zubza project would take at least seven years to be completed after the final survey because of the tough terrain. “Achievement of the long-cherished dream on this route will be a tough challenge for our engineers,” a senior official said. The Naga Hills are considered “young” and landslides are common during the monsoon, rendering the task of constructing a railway line more difficult, experts on the issue said.
