Assam floods: All stranded passengers at Ditokchera station evacuated

Continued inclement weather and incessant rain on Monday led to further landslides and waterlogging at several locations in Lumding - Badarpur hill section of Lumding division apart from the ones which were already washed out yesterday. Around 1600 railway passengers stranded at Ditokcherra station had already been rescued yesterday and were sent up to Badarpur and Silchar, read a statement from Northeast Frontier Railway.

Out of the 1600 passengers, 119 were evacuated by the Indian Air Force. Stranded passengers of a train at New Haflong were moved to Maibang station by several buses.

As many as 204 passengers had left for Guwahati from Maibang yesterday. Around 169 stranded passengers left for Guwahati from Maibang station at 04.30 AM today, as per the statement.

About 571 more stranded passengers at Ditokchera station have also been rescued today.

With this Northeast Frontier Railway has successfully completed the evacuation of all the stranded passengers. Coordinated efforts at all the affected stations and coordination with local administration, Assam Rifles, Indian Air Force and NGOs have shown results in these tough and demanding weather conditions.

NF Railway conducted the rescued and relief operations of stranded train passengers on war footing under the supervision of senior officers of Lumding division and headquarters.

The staff of various departments have provided their dedicated services day and night for their services. The on-site team effort of P-way Inspectors, Station Masters, Assistant Station Masters, Trolleymen and most importantly the RPF personnel guided by the officers at the site have saved the lives of many passengers.

The Railways while having put efforts in rescuing the stranded passengers, has also ensured sanitation and medical facility for them, officials said.

Food and drinking water was provided to all the stranded passengers regularly. Station staff went out of their way to provide food to some passengers out of their own kitchens even when their homes were filling up with the floodwaters.

Railway Staff at Daotuhaja station have taken shelter in station premises because of floods. Efforts are being made to provide them with food and water. Passengers expressed their gratitude for the rescue and alternative arrangements made by the railway authority. Passengers were satisfied that all necessary measures were taken to bring them by special trains and other modes of transport and also for arranging food for all.

NF Railway has also arranged to refund the ticket fares to the affected passengers. Refund amounting to Rs 8 lakhs has already been made for 1,006 passengers. The remaining affected passengers can claim their refunds on the IRCTC website (for e-tickets) and at PRS counters of the concerned stations (for window tickets).

Having rescued and evacuated all the passengers, Railways is now putting all its efforts into restoring the damaged line and re-starting the train services to South Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. The continued rain in the area has caused landslides at many more locations.

New Haflong station is completely inundated with debris. The empty passenger train standing at the station has been washed off from the tracks due to massive landslides.

However, the restoration works at 11 locations have already been completed. Northeast Frontier Railway is working on war footing to ensure connectivity to the affected region. (ANI)