Landslides hit train services in Lumding-Silchar hill section

Silchar: Train services in the 210-km Lumding-Silchar hill section of Northeast Frontier Railway have been cancelled for the past eight days because of landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in many places in the section that runs through the Barail Hill range.
Services of all passenger and goods trains, including Silchar-Guwahati Fast Passenger, Silchar-New Delhi Poorvattar Sampark Kranti Express, Silchar-Kolkata Kanchanjungha Express, have been cancelled since May 16.
The situation has worsened following fresh landslides in three places in the section. On Sunday, mud, soil, boulders, trees and debris came down the Barail Hill on the railway tracks between Faiding and Mahur, Migrendisa and Mahur, and New Haflong and Migrendisa stations. Soil has been washed away from under the tracks in some places.
A senior NFR official on Monday said engineers and workers had been working on a war footing to revive the railway connectivity. However, it will take another four to five days to make the route fit for resuming train services, provided the weather conditions are conducive.
People of the region have been suffering a lot because of disruption in train services for more than a week as the route is considered a lifeline for the people of south Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur. The prices of essential items have hit the roof in the region's markets.
The extremely dilapidated condition of Silchar-Shillong National Highway has made things worse. The road is prone to frequent landslides during rain.