Silchar: A peaceful protest turned tense on Saturday outside Silchar Railway Station as members of the Silchar-Lumding Broad Gauge Implementation Struggle Committee staged a demonstration demanding immediate commencement of work on the long-pending Chandranathpur-Lanka second railway line. The situation escalated when Cachar Police arrested four key members of the committee, drawing strong condemnation from the protestors.

The arrested individuals include Prof. Ajay Roy, Simanta Bhattacharjee, Bhabatosh Bhattacharjee, and Khadija Begum. The committee claimed that the protest was held with prior permission from the railway authorities and that a memorandum had also been submitted to the Station Superintendent pressing for swift action. The arrests, they said, disrupted a democratic movement and reflected an authoritarian stance by the administration.

The protest, held as per earlier announcements, called for the alternative railway route connecting Chandranathpur to Guwahati via Lanka to be taken up on a war footing. Demonstrators, carrying placards, showcased the survey report of the proposed line and demanded the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and immediate commencement of construction within the current financial year.

Speaking at the protest, Prof. Roy, one of the conveners of the committee, said that while several public representatives from Barak Valley have raised the issue in the legislative assembly, people should not wait in hope but act unitedly to press for their rights. “Only a mass movement can build the pressure necessary to make the government act,” he asserted.

Recalling the origin of the demand, Roy said that the need for the second line was first raised in a public meeting in Hailakandi back in 2015. Multiple memorandums had been submitted to the Railway Minister since then. In 2022, the central government sanctioned funds for a survey of the proposed line. However, the survey report has not yet been made public, raising concerns about transparency and intent.

“With the arrival of the monsoon, landslides are frequently disrupting services on the existing hill section, forcing passengers into unimaginable hardship,” Roy said. He added that the need for an alternate route goes beyond natural disasters, pointing out that the lone existing railway line serves not just Barak Valley and Tripura, but also Mizoram and Manipur. “This overdependence leads to traffic congestion and significant delays. Hours are wasted due to bottlenecks that a second line could have prevented,” he said.

Among those present at the protest were Haridas Dutta, Maloy Bhattacharjee, Subrata Chandra Nath, Atanu Bhattacharjee, Tapash Bhattacharjee, Sukalpa Bhattacharjee, Arindam Dev, Khadija Begum, and Bijit Sinha.