Union Minister of State (MoS) for Railways and Textiles Darshana Jardosh assured that she will take up the issue of alleged negligence of Dimapur railway station with the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) officials responsible.
She said this while interacting with media persons on the sidelines of the review meeting with head of departments (HoDs) at the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Conference Hall Chümoukedima Tuesday.
The MoS was responding to the issues with NFR on reduced ticket quota and train connectivity at Dimapur. Various issues had been frequently highlighted by Nagaland Post during the past years.
Jardosh also revealed that she came to know about the reduced ticket quota at Dimapur railway station from Border Security Force (BSF) personnel Monday.
The MoS said she had assured BSF of coordinating with her office in Delhi to resolve the issue.
This Reporter also highlighted issues about negligence of the Dimapur railway station by NFR such as reduction of ticket quotas, moving BG Express and Nagaland Express from Dimapur to Assam including hurdle to development due to land encroachment on railway land.
Jardosh highlighted the upcoming development of 508 railway stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, with Dimapur being one of the primary stations.
Referring to the proposal to convert Dimapur station into a world-class railway station by 2024, she expressed her optimism about the project’s timely completion with support from local bodies and the government. She also acknowledged concerns about the current progress and assured that the necessary actions would be taken.
With regard to land encroachment, she informed the media that she held a meeting with chief minister Neiphiu Rio, who gave assurance to provide assistance on the issue. Noting that Dimapur being one of the most important stations, the minister said she would look into the issues and holdtalks with the officials concerned.
On completion of Dhansiri-Zubza-Kohima railway line, she acknowledged the challenges posed by the hilly terrain in completing railway projects, but assured that the government was doing its best in this regard. The MoS mentioned that her visit was to focus on implementation of Central schemes in the newly-created Chümoukedima district and on collecting feedback from both public and officers to enhance these schemes.
While highlighting about various central sponsored schemes, she reiterated the government’s commitment to develop railways and promote textile sector in the Northeast, specifically in Nagaland.
She also highlighted the importance of handloom and handicrafts even as the G20 summit was being held in India. She stated that the Central government was focusing on small handloom handicraft activities due to international interest in Indian products. She said that after Japan, India had the potential to become the largest exporter of silk, especially from the North Eastern region.
Earlier, the MoS held a review meeting with district administration and HoDs of Chümoukedima district at DC’s conference hall.
According to DIPR, the minister visited Dhansiripar village for distribution of fly shuttle frame looms,weavers, inaugurated SAMARTH training program and visited Eri Rearing village and sericulture farm. She also visited Diezephe craft village,Sovima M/S Heirloom Naga, HL&HC Design & Development centre and also Dragon fruit farm at Chümoukedima and Jal Jeevan Mission at Kirha village.