Title - Jiribam-Tupul rail project to be completed in 2015

IMPHAL: Railway officials have assured that the ongoing rail project connecting Manipur's Jiribam subdivision and Tupul in Tamenglong district near Imphal will be completed by 2015. They said construction of the Imphal-Tupul line, another section of the project, will be completed in the next four years.

A review meeting on the ongoing railway project was convened with chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the chair at his office on Monday evening, sources said, adding that senior officials of the state government, railways and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) took part in it.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the rail project in November 2004. Of the total Rs 3,250 crore earmarked for the project as its estimated cost, Rs 326 crore has been utilized so far, a source said quoting a railway official. He added that the construction of four out of the 34 tunnels has been completed.

The source said a detailed project report of Rs 1,700 crore has been sent to the Centre for the Tupul-Imphal rail line and once the amount is sanctioned, the project will be completed within four years.

Significantly, this rail line will pass through a whopping 141-metre railway bridge, which will be the highest in the world, and a tunnel stretching 8.9 km, which will be the second longest in the nation.

During the meeting, the BRO officials also assured completion of the development work of National Highway 37, connecting Imphal and Jiribam by March this year.

Meanwhile, the BRO and state PWD have begun improvement work along NH-37 and NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur route) for the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) car rally. On February 22, the rally will be flagged off at Kolkata and will cover the four countries in 12 days before winding up at China's Kunmin province.