Mizoram NGO warns Sairang–Hmawngbuchhuah rail extension could deepen water crisis

The Aizawl-based Centre for Environment and Social Justice (CESJ) on Friday voiced strong opposition to the proposed extension of the Sairang railway line to Hmawngbuchhuah in southern Mizoram, cautioning that the project could severely damage the state’s fragile environment and accelerate the depletion of its water sources. 

CESJ treasurer Saizampuii Sailo said the planned expansion toward Hmawngbuchhuah, a strategic location in Lawngtlai district near the Myanmar border, carries significant ecological risks for a mountainous state already facing strains on its natural resources.

Sailo said Mizoram’s hilly terrain and sensitive ecosystem cannot sustain large-scale infrastructure projects without long-term environmental consequences. “The CESJ thinks that no further major project should be undertaken, as it can damage the environment and water sources in a hilly state with a fragile ecosystem like Mizoram. Looking at the present condition of our river sources, we will face a severe water crisis in the near future,” she told reporters, asserting that the organisation would oppose the plan “till the end.”

She further warned that the extension could trigger demographic pressures, pointing to concerns about the influx of outsiders witnessed in other northeastern states. “Nagaland refused to extend the railway line to its interior as it learned a lesson from the opening of the railway line up to Dimapur. Similarly, Meghalaya also strongly opposed the railway extension due to potential influx from outside,” Sailo said.

Her remarks come just two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sairang–Bairabi railway line in September, bringing Mizoram onto the national railway map for the first time. Considered one of the most challenging railway projects in the country’s history, the line links Aizawl with the rest of India through Silchar in Assam. Officials have reported a significant rise in tourist arrivals since the line opened, a development that CESJ fears may intensify if the railway is extended further south.