Several NE states cut off from rest of India by rail as tracks submerged or damaged

Several northeastern states, including Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam (southern part), remained cut off from the rest of the country by rail as railway tracks were waterlogged and damaged after landslides triggered by incessant rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal, officials said on Wednesday. 

A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official said that railway tracks were inundated due to heavy rains or damaged in at least ten places in the New Haflong-Bandarkhal section under the Lumding division in southern Assam’s Dima Hasao district, which is a connecting route to south Assam, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram.

"Our engineers and workers are working round-the-clock to restore rail services but heavy rain and adverse weather conditions badly affected the restoration work," the NFR official told IANS.

He said that full-fledged work could not be started until the rain stopped.

The NFR had cancelled a large number of express, passenger and goods trains bound for south Assam, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram since Tuesday.

According to the NFR official, passenger and goods train services have been affected in the region since April 25 owing to heavy landslides causing damage to railway tracks in the Jatinga Lumpur-New Harangajao section under the Lumding division after heavy rains lashed the mountainous Dima Hasao district.

Considering the damaged railway tracks and weak soil in the region, the NFR recently operated a limited number of trains in the daytime on the hilly route, besides regulating long-distance and express trains. The disruptions in services caused a major shortage of transport fuel -- petrol and diesel -- and other essential goods in southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. Due to the heavy rain and landslides, highway connectivity was also affected in these states, which are heavily dependent on fuel, essential items, food grains and other commodities from the outside.