Road, rail link cut off; fuel supply to hit Barak Valley, Mizoram, Tripura

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 9, 2024

Fuel supply is likely to hit three districts of Assam’s Barak Valley, Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur as both road and rail link have been disrupted due to rain-induced landslides in Assam’s Dima Hasao district and Sonapur in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district in the last week of April.

Even as the movement of train and trucks ressumes, it is still risky and only a few vehicles and trains are allowed to pass through the damaged tracks and roads.

The movement of passenger and good trains have been disrupted in Barak Valley since April 25, as landslides damaged a portion of railway tracks in between Jatinga and Lampur under Lumding Railway Division in Dima Hasao district.

Since April 30, after a landslide at Sonapur, the Guwahati-Silchar road was almost closed with hundreds of vehicles stuck on the way. Even as the road stretch was open for vehicle, the movement of vehicle is still not safe.

As a result, the stock of fuel – petrol and diesel and cooking gas in Barak Valley, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur was affected.

The situation has forced Tripura and Mizoram governments to start rationing of petrol and diesel for different types of vehicles. 

According to an official of Indian Oil, more than 25 rakes of fuel are carried by trains from Bongaigaon, Digboi, Numaligarh, Barawni and Paradip refineries to Srikona Depot of the oil company in Silchar, from where the consignments have ben dispatched to parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

“However, the stock is not sufficient in Barak Valley. The situation in Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur is also not good,” the official said.

Sources said Manipur has to send fuel tankers to Guwahati to bring fuel for the state.

More than 100 vehicles are sent to Manipur daily from Srikona Depot of Indian Oil, 50 to Mizoram and 50 vehicles are sent to Tripura.

However, the Srikona Depot can’t supply adequate fuel to these states from April 29 onwards, sources said.

After the landslides, only 140 vehicles were sent to the three states on April 29, 66 vehicles on April 30, 112 vehicles on May 2, 

47 vehicles on May 3, 33 vehicles on May 4, 22 vehicles on May 5, 46 vehicles on May 6 and 29 vehicles were sent on May 6.

No fuel-carrying vehicle has been on May 8 and 9.

Hundreds of works and technicians are working round the clock to fully restore the train services Jatinga and Lampur and New Harangajao railway station under Lumding Railway Division.

A senior official of Northeast Frontier Railway said they have removed the debris from the landslides and partially rectified the railway tracks in multiple locations.

When contacted the railway officials can’t make any assurance of resuming the normal train service.

In view of the ongoing track repairing work at KM – 110/7 between Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao, NF Railway authorities cancelled train no 15615/15616 (Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati Express scheduled to depart on May 10 from their respective destination.