The hilly border State of Manipur has finally found a place in the country’s railway map. On January 6, a passenger train came from Silchar in Assam to the Vangaichungpao railway station in Manipur. It is situated 17 km from the Jiribam railway station along the Assam-Manipur border. On January 27, a goods train came up to the Rani Gaidinlu station.
Officials said that the new rail line is 111 km long from Jiribam to Imphal. There are 46 tunnels, as the Noney and Tamenglong districts through which the rail line will pass through are full of hills. Reports say that there are 153 bridges.
The tallest railway bridge in the world is located in Noney district. It is 141 m high. An amount of ₹14,000 cr. was set aside for the construction of the rail line. The construction work was started in 2013. Though the earlier plan was to construct up to Imphal, it will eventually be extended to Moreh, the trading centre located at the Manipur-Myanmar border. This is part of the trans-Asian railway. The trans-Asian highway is already under construction. The border trade between India and Myanmar is legalised at Moreh.
On protesters
Officials said that the primary target of the agitating people is to shut down all national projects, including the rail lines under construction. As a result, there have been inordinate delays in the construction work.
In addition, the workers cannot carry on the construction work during rainy season. Transportation of the construction materials is also suspended as the mountain roads are virtually blocked by multiple landslides due to heavy downpour.