| Dimapur-Zubza rail link hits roadblock |
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DIMAPUR, JAN 18(EMN): The much anticipated Railway link connecting Dimapur to Zubza is far from seeing the light of the day as Central Railway Ministry is still at the negotiating stage over the “exorbitant” demands of the land owners through Northeast Frontier Railways and the State government.
General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway Shiv Kumar confirming this said the National project of the Railway Ministry for rail link to Kohima from Dimapur has reached a bottle neck on account of exorbitant land price demanded by land owners here.
“The price demanded by some villages through whose land jurisdiction the rail track will traverse is too exorbitant to be afforded by the Centre,” GM Kumar, who arrived at Dimapur railway station this afternoon as part of his GMS Annual Inspection tour, stated.
The GM said the State government has been apprised to negotiate over the prices with the villages concerned and is waiting for answer. The GM also informed that the Final Location Site (FLC) has not been aligned till now since a final agreement is yet to be reached with regard to the land acquisition. It may be noted that earlier villages through which the rail line will pass had voiced impatience over the delay on the proposed construction of the railway line while also declaring that they would stick to the rate submitted to the district administration. Another problem encountered in the construction of the Dimapur-Kohima rail link, the GM said is that it has to pass through the Rangapahar Zoological Park and adjacent area and again some villages are reluctant to part with their lands. Dimapur-Zubza railway link, the viability of which was surveyed in February 2009 for alignment, has a distance of approximately 125 kilometers and crosses 25 villages under Dimapur and Kohima districts with the last station planned for Zubza, ten kilometers away from Kohima. Dimapur Rly Station woes The General Manager of NF Railway noted the lack of provisions of foot-over landing facilities at Lumding end, foot-over bridge and platform sheds in platform number 2. The model plan of the Dimapur station and construction of platform shed in PF no-2 was expected to be completed by 2009, as stated by some railway officials earlier. The hurried superficial face lift given to Dimapur Railway station on account of the GM’s visit was evident today with fresh color coatings in every corner, vendors with their uniforms intact and name plates appropriately pinned on their chest and the toilet spic and span. However, the GM during inspection carried a dour expression as he detected many discrepancies. Right after the inspection, the GM informed the media that he had detected a number of anomalies in the functioning of the Dimapur railway station. However he shied away from giving details. Journalists taking the tour of the Station with the GM pointed out the unhygienic condition of the Railway Refreshment Room kitchen with stagnant sewage water flooding the corner meant for washing plates and utensils. “We have complained to our officials many a times, but they have not taken any action to rectify this till now,” a staff at the kitchen reported. Though Dimapur railway station is the second highest revenue earning station in the northeast after Guwahati, developmental activities, for which funds have been allocated by Ministry of Railway, have been far from satisfactory. |
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