Correspondent
KOHIMA, AUG 28 (NPN): Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha MP, S Supongmeren Jamir, on Friday visited Dimapur railway station and met railway officials to review the progress of the ongoing World Class Standard Railway Station project and discuss issues affecting its implementation.
Accompanied by a state member of the Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (DRUCC), Jamir said the railway authorities briefed them on the challenges facing the project and maintained that officials were doing their best despite the difficulties.
However, he expressed concern over the pace of construction, noting that only 7.5% of the project had reportedly been completed after one year, despite a three-year completion deadline. “With one year already gone, only two years remain to complete the project,” Jamir said. He said the major hurdles included encroachment and the non-availability of land claimed by the railways. Restrictions imposed on the land had also created difficulties for genuine and legal landholders, he added.
Jamir said affected landholders had the right to raise their grievances with the state government and the railway ministry. At the same time, he noted that the Ministry of Railways had already approved the world-class railway station project for Dimapur.
According to MP, a joint verification team constituted by the state government had identified 109 patta holders and several encroachment-related issues. He said the state high-powered committee would need to examine the matter and expedite the process.
Jamir said he had also been informed that patta holders had met the Union railway minister and received a positive response. If a favourable decision had been taken, he said, it should help resolve the land issue without further delaying the project.
He said the state government had also taken up the issue of compensation with the railway ministry, although the ministry’s position was yet to be ascertained. “The matter needs to be expedited, whether the response is positive or negative, so that it can be settled without hampering the project,” he said.
Jamir said another major concern was the proposed railway double line, arguing that the full vision and scope of the world-class station could not be realised unless the double-line project was extended to Dimapur.
He said no significant progress had reportedly been made on the Nagaland portion of the double-line project, with land encroachment and the lack of cleared land emerging as major obstacles.
While cadastral land had been surveyed, non-cadastral land was yet to be covered, Jamir said, adding that cooperation from village authorities, village councils and village chiefs would be essential to complete the process.
He urged all stakeholders to cooperate with the state government, saying the survey and subsequent processes would remain difficult without collective support.
Jamir also raised concern over train timings, noting that most trains serving Nagaland operated during the night, midnight or early morning, causing inconvenience to passengers.
He suggested the revival of the Nagaland Express between Dimapur and Guwahati, which earlier departed Dimapur around 6:30am and returned in the evening. The service was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamir said resuming the service, with a morning departure from Dimapur and arrival in Guwahati around noon, would provide passengers with a more convenient travel option.
On whether a high-powered committee should be constituted to expedite the railway station project, Jamir said the state government already had a committee overseeing and reviewing the matter.
He expressed hope that the existing committee would expedite the resolution of issues within and outside the project area so that the world-class railway station could be completed within the stipulated three-year period.