Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 489/14

PM MODI FLAGS OFF FIRST TRAIN FROM MENDIPATHAR TO GUWAHATI

Shillong, Nov. 29, 2014: Putting Meghalaya on the Railway map of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from Mendipahar in Meghalaya to Guwahati through a video link at a function held at Railway Stadium at Maligaon on Saturday evening.

Governor of Assam Janaki Ballav Patnaik, Governor of Meghalaya and Mizoram Dr. K.K. Paul, Chief Ministers of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, Tarun Gogoi, Dr. Mukul Sangma and Lal Thanhawla, Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju were also present on the historic occasion.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the New Railway Line from Bhairabi to Sairang in Mizoram.

Addressing the mammoth gathering between applauses and cheers from the crowd, the Prime Minister said that it was a historic moment for the Railways as development of the Northeast is a primary requirement for the development of the country. He said that the Centre was changing its policy from “Look East” to “At East” and informed that an amount of Rs.28000 crores would be allocated in the next budget to connect the states of North East with railways. Reiterating that the development of the infrastructure was the first step towards overall development of any region, Modi expressed his confidence that providing good railway connectivity to the Northeast would help in developing the tremendous potential for tourism in this region and congratulated the people of Meghalaya and Mizoram on the occasion.

Earlier, speaking on this occasion, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma thanked the Railways for providing rail connectivity in the State, saying, “it is an enormous opportunity for growth”, and added that he looked forward towards further investments from the Railways, particularly the State’s proposal for railway line from Jogighopa to Badarpur in Assam along the Indo-Bangla border of the State connecting all Land Custom Stations. He also informed that the State Government was putting in place Facilitation Centres along all entry and exit points to and from the State including the Railway Station as a comprehensive mechanisim to check illegal immigration and urged upon the NF Railway to accordingly cooperate with the district administration in fulfilling the objectives which would enable the State to make Mendipathar the most secure station in the country.

Shri Lal Thanhawla, Chief Minister of Mizoram also thanked the Railways for undertaking the Bhairabi – Sairang project for providing rail connectivity in his state. Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Tarun Gogoi, in his speech said that although there has been significant progress in the rail connectivity in the Northeast, further improvements are required.

It may be mentioned that the 19.75 km Dudhnoi-Mendipathar railway line was constructed at an approximate cost of Rs. 275 crores. The line passed through Goalpara district of Assam and takes off from the existing Dudhnoi station on the Kamakhya-Goalpara-New Bongaigaon route of Rangia Division to Mendipathar in the erstwhile East Garo Hills district, now North Garo Hills district in Meghalaya. Out of the total length of 19.75 km of the line, 10.26 km falls in Assam and 9.49km in Meghalaya.