Garo Hills to get rail connectivity with Bengal through Bangladesh

SHILLONG, May 5 (NNN): The Joint Movement Committee for Corridor from Balurghat-Hili to Mahendraganj – Tura (Meghalaya) through Bangladesh has demanded the fulfilment of the long-standing demand for the construction of a railway track to directly connect Hili, Balurghat with Gaibandha up to Tura.

A memorandum in this regard was submitted to the Railway minister and chairman on April 4 and 6.

The committee is headed by Dr Naba Kumar Das. The other members include Dikkanchi D. Shira MLA, Winnerson D Sangma MLA, Raren Barman ex-MP, Haripada Saha, Amulaya Ratan Saha, Shankar Das, Rupak Dutta, Subash Chaki, Dr. Saurav Kundu, Arup Nag, Biswajit Nandi, Zahidul Islam, Shahinur Reza, Shahain.

The committee had fought for about 12 years for railway connectivity from Hili, West Bengal to Gaibandha, Meghalaya, and is set to achieve the success of their movement with the recommendation and clearance from the Railway Board, New Delhi along with the allocation of Rs 7000 crore for the construction of a broad BG rail track to cover a distance of 150 km, a statement said on Tuesday.
It informed that the chairman assured immediate action and proper initiative and kept his assurance.

This railway line will easily connect HILI to Gaibandha and save both time and money. The construction of Balurghat – Hili rail track is under construction and will be extended perpendicularly across HILI (Bangladesh) to connect Tura.
This track is planned to be further extended up to Silchar, Assam. As per the announcement of the Railway Board, the new line from Balurghat to Tura via Hili, West Bengal will cross HILI, Bangladesh with grade separation, the statement said.
The new line will be through Bangladesh and decided to be electrified up to Tura. The people of Meghalaya, Bangladesh, West Bengal and Northeast India are immensely happy as the news spreads, it added.
The committee said the historic announcement for the construction of the railway track is a milestone for the entire region of Dinajpur and Meghalaya.
Meghalaya which is still without railway connectivity is set to be connected with the rest of India through it in the very near future.