Guwahati: A food crisis looms over Mizoram and Tripura besides south Assam as the movement of trains continued to remain shut in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section of NF Railway’s Lumding division.
The vehicular traffic on vital Haflong-Jatinga highway and National Highway 6 between Badarpur and Shillong was disrupted due to landslips at Malidhor, Ratachera and Umkiang.
The NF Railway has suspended the movement of trains in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section as the rail tracks have been damaged in multiple locations due to landslides and waterlogging.
According to a top NF Railway official, landslides and waterlogging triggered by incessant rains during the last one week have caused extensive damage to railway tracks in at least 50 locations in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section.
“In view of waterlogging and landslides due to heavy rain, tracks between Jatinga Lumpur and New Harangajao, and between Bandarkhal and Ditokcherra sections and other several locations in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section have been damaged,” the official said.
Soils of 100-meter railway tracks at the Daotohaja-Phaiding section and similar length of the vital Haflong-Jatinga highway (NH-54) had been washed away due to the non-stop downpour.
Sources said top NF Railway officials are camping in Haflong to oversee the restoration of the railway tracks.
An official said that it will take at least three months to restore connectivity completely.
NF Railway canceled at least 25 pairs of passenger trains connecting Tripura, Mizoram and south Assam following heavy landslides triggered by incessant rains in the Dima Hasao district.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) evacuated over 1,500 stranded passengers.