RailEnquiry

SILCHAR: Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) sources on Wednesday said it will take about two more weeks to restore the portion of railway track between Harangajao and Mailongdisa on the Lumding-Silchar section that was washed away due to a landslide last Sunday."Workers and engineers are working round the clock to restore the line. We hope in another two weeks we will be able to make the stretch fit for running of trains. Soil, concrete and boulders were washed away from under a 100-metre stretch of the track, which is simply hanging due to impact of the landslide," said an official.The landslide also damaged bridge number 440 in the place. Sources said additional divisional railway manager of the Lumding division of NFR, Satish Kothati, is stationed at the spot to oversee the restoration work.Torrential rain in the Barail Hill range for the past many days triggered landslides in at least five places in the Hill section last Sunday. The authorities were compelled to suspend and regulate services of all trains in this 214-km section until tracks are repaired.Apart from the stretch between Harangajao and Mailongdisa, debris from landslides in other four places were cleared, the sources added.The ongoing 60-hour Dima Hasao district bandh caused no hindrance to the restoration work, the railway official said.Elsewhere, the bandh called by the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) and its frontal organizations brought normal life in the hill district to a halt. On Wednesday, the second day of the bandh, all shops and business establishments were closed. Banks, government and private offices and educational institutions also didn't function. Traffic was off the roads.The bandh was called seeking immediate release of ASDC leader Mohet Hojai, a former chief executive member of the NC Hills Autonomous Council. He is in jail since May 30, 2009, along with 14 others, for his alleged involvement in a Rs 1,000-crore scam in the once-troubled district.ASDC also demanded withdrawal of the NIA from the district, regularization of salaries of the normal sector employees of the council, immediate disbursement of gratuity and separate arrangements for recruitment of teachers for the hill district by scrapping the TET.