Tripura government readies plan for food supply by road as Assam landslides snap rail links

Agartala, May 17 (PTI): The Tripura government is readying a contingency plan for supply of essential items by road from Assam as restoration of railway network affected by rain-triggered landslides in the neighbouring state will take at least two months, officials said on Tuesday.

As of now, Tripura has “no shortage” of essential items and fuel but if the suspension of train services continues for a long time, it will impact the normal supply to the state, food and civil supplies department additional secretary Tapan Kumar Das said.

As part of the contingency plan, the department will bring essential items from Guwahati by road. Today, we have a video conference with authorities of Food Corporation of India to take stock of the situation in the wake of the train services disruption at Maibong. The department is ready to procure essential items by road,” he said.

At present, the state has a rice stock for 42 days, he said.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has already suspended train services to Tripura, south Assam, Manipur and Mizoram in the wake of major landslides between Maibong and Bandarkhal in Assam till May 25, another official said.

We are in touch with DRM of the Lumding railway division for restoration works. The NFR said it will take at least two months to restore train services through the affected areas, state transport department principal secretary LH Darlong told PTI.

The restoration works may get delayed if rain continues in Maibong and its adjacent areas, he said.

All the seven long-distance passenger trains have been suspended on account of the disaster-like situation in Assam’s Maibong area, the official said, adding that movement of goods trains has also been disrupted.

However, passenger train services between Agartala and Silchar have not been affected due to the landslides.

Restoration works are going on at Maibong and its adjacent areas. There will be no train services to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and parts of Assam till May 25. We are trying to restore train services at the earliest, a senior NFR official said.