Security concern may stop rly service in Guwahati-Goalpar sec

Guwahati, Aug 5 (UNI) Miscreant activities like stone pelting have created serious security concerns in the Guwahati-Goalpara sector of the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway, with the authorities forced to contemplate halting of services if the problems persist.

''There are regular instances of stone pelting on trains or keeping objects on the tracks to cause accidents in the sector,'' NF Railway spokesperson Jayanta Sharma said.

In the latest incident, a driver of a goods train was injured yesterday when some miscreants threw stones at a level crossing at Azara station in south Kamrup.

He was in the locomotive of an empty goods train on way from New Bongaigaon to Numaligarh via Guwahati and could manage to get the train to Kamakhya station in Guwahati, before receiving medical aid.

Mr Sharma informed that a case had been registered with the Government Railway Police and the state government had also been intimated about the problem.

In another incident assistant driver Shankar Jee succumbed at the Railway Hospital here on July 25 after sustaining injuries when criminals threw pandral clips (an iron material used to fix the rails with the sleepers in the railway track) between Ranjuli and Dudhnoi stations on July 14.

He was on duty in the locomotive of the down Saraighat Express.

A co-loco pilot M Mushary was injured when miscreants pelted him with stones at a goods train in the same sector. They also damaged window panes.

In yet another incident, miscreants placed a piece of rail on the track in front of the down Saraighat Express between Boko and Dhupdhara stations. But an alert driver stopped the train and averted a major mishap.

The PRO informed that the railway administration had brought these incidents to the notice of the state government.

''If such activities continue and safety of railway employees is put to danger, train service may need to be stopped on the section as the railway administration was constrained to do in the Lumding- Badarpur hill section,'' he added.

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