2 Trains from (SZR)SARUPATHAR to (DMGN)DHAMALGAON

Giving a major boost to development of the North-Eastern Region, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Govt. of India, today o­n 19^th September, 2022 inaugurated a Riverfront Passenger Jetty near the Bogibeel Rail cum Road Bridge, constructed by Railways in Dibrugarh. The inauguration programme was attended by Shri Rameswar Teli, Hon’ble Minister of State of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. The General Manager of N. F. Railway Shri Anshul Gupta, Divisional Railway Manager of Tinsukia division Shri Bijaya Kumar Mishra, senior railway officials and officials from Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways were also present at the occasion.

While inaugurating the Riverfront Jetty at Bogibeel, Hon’ble Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal requested railways for similar facilities at Pandu, Jogighopa and Dhubri while praising the successful development of the passenger jetty by N. F. Railway. He thanked the General Manager, N. F. Railway and Divisional Railway Manager, Tinsukia for successful commissioning of the passenger jetty.

The General Manager of N. F. Railway, o­n the occasion announced the plan for development of New Tinsukia and Dibrugarh Railway stations as per world class standard. Dhamalgaon station is also planned to be developed for enhancing tourism at Bogibeel, the General Manager said. He also promised all-round socio-economic development of the region. Bogibeel will be developed as a Gati Shakti unit for handling freight and passenger traffic in a multimodal concept, he added.

The project to develop river site near the Bogibeel Bridge is a major step towards integrated connectivity between railways and waterways under mission ‘Gati Shakti’ launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. Promotion of local tourism & culture and mobility of business activities in and around Bogibeel area will also get an impetus. The project will also lead to development of multimodal transport hub for the North-eastern region and will boost tourism prospects in the upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh areas. This will facilitate transportation of goods and reduce travel time and cost for movement of people.

The work for development of the riverfront at Bogibeel was taken up by the N. F. Railway as a result of a meeting held in October last year with the Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Inland Water Transport, Govt. of Assam. The entire project is being implemented in downstream of the Bogibeel Bridge site o­n the South bank.

The project will lead cargo movement facilitating waterways transportation of materials further transportation through railways to the destinations. The Riverfront facility developed also has immense potential to evolve as a Tourist Hub. Exciting water sports like boating, cruise available at the jetty will provide bunch of fascination to tourists and general public. Amenities like restaurant, toilet, parking etc. would also benefit to public at large.

                           The following additional proactive measures have been taken by the Indian Railways in wake of COVID-19:

1.To discourage unnecessary travel and to prevent the vulnerable category of Senior Citizens from undertaking unnecessary travels, concessional booking of all tickets except Patients, students and Divyangjan category for Unreserved & Reserved segment are being suspended form 00:00 hrs of 20th March till further advisory.

2.As a precautionary measure and to discourage nonessential travel and overcrowding of trains, so far total 155 pairs of low occupancy trains are cancelled up to 31.03.20. NFR has also cancelled 16 pairs of trains with low occupancy(less than 30%). Trains are cancelled keeping in view the availability of alternate trains for passengers and ensuring that no passenger shall remain stranded. Full refund is being given to all the passengers whose train has been cancelled.

3.Indian Railways has also facilitated return of students stranded in Northern part of country due to sudden closure of Educational Institutions to their homes in Southern, North-Eastern and Eastern regions of India.

4.Advisories are being issued to passengers to avoid non-essential train journeys and to ensure that they do not have running fever while they are commencing the journey. At any point of journey if passenger feels that he is having fever, he can contact the Railway Staff for medical attention and further assistance.

5.To avoid unnecessary crowding at Railway Stations in wake of spread of COVID 19, it has been decided to raise the price of Platform Ticket wherever necessary. In NFR platform ticket prices of the following stations have been changed Rs. 50/- viz. Guwahati, Kamakhya, Dimapur, Lumding, Silchar, Rangiya, New Bongaigaon, Barpeta Road, Tinsukia, New Tinsukia, Dibrugarh Town, Dibrugarh, Simaluguri Jn., Mariani Jn., Jorhat Town and all station under Katihar division. Simmilarly price of platform tickets increased to Rs. 30/- in Agartala, Badarpur Jn., Bokajan, Chaparmukh Jn., Dharmanagar, Diphu, Hojai, Jagiroad, Karimganj Jn., Lanka and Sarupathar stations.

6.Regular Announcement are being done o­n PA System of Railway Stations & Trains to sensitize the public about various Do’s & Don’ts highlighting :

a)Keeping hands clean by frequent washing of hands;

b)Maintain social distance & covering the mouth while sneezing and coughing;

c)Precautions to be taken if o­ne has running fever-(don’t travel and report immediately to the Doctor);

d)Not spitting anywhere in the public place and Railway premises and

e)Avoid overcrowding & to ensure distancing between passengers in trains including local passenger trains.