Floods disrupt rail and road communication in Assam's Barak Valley

Rail and road communication in Assam's Barak Valley has been severely impacted as the Barak river surged above the danger mark, causing flooding in several areas of Silchar town, exacerbated by incessant rainfall in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal, officials said.

The railway station in Silchar's Tarapur locality, situated close to the river, has been engulfed by the rising waters, disrupting railway operations significantly. According to a spokesperson from the North East Frontier Railway, services to and from Silchar, a crucial hub in Barak Valley, have either been canceled or short-terminated.

The Silchar-Guwahati Express and the corresponding train from Guwahati along with the Silchar-Rangiya Express and the corresponding train from Rangiya will remain cancelled on Friday and Saturday.

Six more trains will remain cancelled on Friday due to high-water level and speed restriction between Jugijan and Jamunamukh of Lumding division, he said. These include Guwahati-Mariani BG Express, Guwahati-Lumding Special, Guwahati-Ledo Intercity Express and its corresponding train from Ledo, Dibrugarh-Guwahati Nagaland Express and Shokhuvi-Naharlagun Donyi Polo Express.

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Meanwhile, train services have been suspended between New Haflong-Chandranathpur section under Lumding division with some trains cancelled and short-terminated, the spokesperson said.

The Thiruvananthapuram Central-Silchar Express will be short-terminated at Guwahati. The Sealdah-Agartala Kanchanjunga Express will also be short-terminated and remain cancelled between Lumding and Agartala. The Agartala-Secunderabad Special will be short-terminated at Guwahati, the spokesperson said.

The Bengaluru-Agartala Humsafar Express and the Anand Vihar Terminal-Agartala Rajdhani Express will also be short-terminated at Guwahati.

Barak Valley's three districts - Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj - along with Dima Hasao and Hojai are among the worst hit in the current spate of floods.

Road communication of the three districts in Barak Valley with other parts of the state and the region have also been disrupted with vehicles stranded following 20 metres of road on National Highway-6 being washed away by heavy rains in Meghalaya's Lumslum area.

Cachar is the worst-hit with 1,12,246 people reeling under floodwaters, followed by 37,000 in Karimganj, 22,058 in Hojai and 14,308 in Hailakandi, among others.

Barak Valley had witnessed devastating floods in 2022 with Silchar town bearing the brunt of it.

In severely-hit Dima Hasao district, life has come to a standstill due to relentless rain, severely impacting road connectivity throughout the district.

The Haflong-Silchar road has been completely cut off after a section was washed away near Harangajao, while the Haflong-Harangajao route is blocked by multiple landslides.

The District Disaster Management Authority and Dima Hasao police have issued an advisory against traveling at night, except on the Umrongso-Lanka route.

Train services, canceled or short-terminated due to landslides along the Haflong-Badarpur rail route, are yet to be restored, officials said.