Guwahati: Concluding a two-day visit to Assam on Friday, the Union Minister of State for railways Darshana Jardosh met Governor professor Jagdish Mukhi and State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the city, where she discussed on some important railway projects being implemented in the State.
Called on Governor Mukhi at Raj Bhavan, the minister apprised him of several projects taken up by the Centre for the improvement of railway services in the region. She informed that from New Delhi to Guwahati entire stretch of the railway track has been electrified. Governor Mukhi stressed on early completion of various railway network expansion projects in the region.
CM Sarma, while discussing with the railway minister, requested to help to construct an elevated corridor at Deepor Beel area, where repeated incidents of wild elephants’ deaths caused by railway accidents are taking place. He opined that to give an obstruction-free passage to the tuskers from Rani hills to the wetland, an elevated corridor becomes the need of the hour.
Sarma also insisted on expediting the electrification works in railway tracks in Assam and also extending the double track project up to Dibrugarh in eastern Assam. With regard to under-construction flyovers over the railway tracks in some localities, he urged the minister to impress the NFR authority to resolve the issues amicably.
Later addressing a press conference, Ms Jardosh claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always prioritized the north-eastern States and the railway ministry is preparing for more tourism services in the region like the recently introduced Vistadome service. She termed the railways as the lifeline of people in Bharat and continue to provide services to them.
Days back, welcoming the new railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, a northeast Bharat based graduate engineers’ forum urged the technocrat minister to prevent the unfortunate carnage of wildlife on the railway track in various parts of the country. All Assam Engineer’s Association’ (AAEA) in a statement insisted that regular incidents relating to the annihilation of Asiatic elephants by superfast trains are so disturbing.
AAEA statement expressed hope that Vaishnaw, also in charge of information technology, would contribute immensely to the all-around growth of Indian Railways. It urged the alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, who later served the country as an IAS officer too, for using the information technology extensively in the management of railways benefiting millions of commuters.
The forum emphasized on reforming the management of excreta discharged from coaches carrying the passengers in total. Statistics reveal that over 2,44,000 bio-toilets have been installed in over 69,000 train bogies. The number should be enhanced so that the deposition of human waste on the railway track can be minimized, said AAEA president Er Kailash Sarma.
