Imphal: Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve on Monday inspected the crucial Sangaithel tunnel along with top officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway. The Sangaithel tunnel is going to be Northeast India’s longest railway tunnel.
The 10 km-long railway tunnel will play a crucial role in connecting Manipur capital Imphal with the rest of India. The line is expected to be a major boost for Manipur’s economy, as it would then not be dependent on a lone highway which at one point of time was prone to violence and long bandhs.
Speaking to the media after inspecting the tunnel, the union minister said that the Prime minister’s vision is to connect all state capitals of North East through a rail link. He informed that work on 7 kilometres of the tunnel is almost complete, and the rest of the work is going to be completed within the stipulated time frame.
Union minister Danve also reiterated that the project will be completed within its stipulated deadline of 2023, and added that central funds will never be a problem for such a crucial project.
The union minister also took stock of the works of the Noney Bridge, which is being constructed across the river Ijai. Noney bridge is considered to be an engineering marvel as the tallest pier railway bridge in the world. After the completion of construction, the 141 meters tall Noney pier bridge will surpass the existing record of 139 meter of Mala – Rijeka viaduct at Montenegro in Europe.
On Monday union minister Danve and state chief minister N Biren Singh had virtually flagged off a passenger train service between Jiribam in Manipur to Silchar in Assam resumes after almost two years which was suspended due to covid 19.
