Intermittent landslides between New Haflong and Jatinga Lampur in Assam’s Dima Hasao district have disrupted train and road traffic between south Assam and Tripura since Monday afternoon, prompting a multi-agency effort to restore connectivity and stabilise the affected slopes.
The scale of the damage was evident in a statement issued by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Tuesday evening. “As per estimates, around 50,000 cubic metres of muck and stones have come towards the railway retaining wall. At least 30,000 cubic metres need to be cleared so that work on the track can begin. Railway teams are working on a war footing and senior railway officials from Lumding Division and Headquarters are camping at the site to coordinate restoration,” the statement said.
A Dima Hasao district official said both train services and road traffic between Silchar and Haflong have been suspended due to the ongoing restoration being jointly undertaken by the railways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state agencies.
“The NHAI was repairing NH27, which runs above the railway track, when rain triggered a landslide and seepage. Debris from the NH repair covered the railway stretch below. Restoration is in full swing,” he said.
Rail services on the Lumding–Badarpur hill section have been suspended since Monday. Twelve trains have been cancelled or partially cancelled till June 25 for passenger safety, NFR said, without setting a deadline for resumption, citing the scale of the landslide, which is “continuing intermittently.”
The disruption has impacted south Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur. A high-level emergency meeting was held involving officials from NFR, the state government and NHAI to review the situation.
NFR’s chief public relations officer K.K. Sharma said round-the-clock operations are underway using heavy machinery.