Guwahati: The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network promoted by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) may not have Assam and Manipur in the principle route.
The network constructed to boost trade and cultural exchanges within Asia and between Asia and Europe is a 17,500-Km long railway line passing through 28 member countries and has been described by UNESCAP as ‘Yesterday's Silk Road'.
The east-west corridor that passes through India starts at the easternmost part in Istanbul in Turkey and will pass through Iran till Afghanistan border from where the missing link will be constructed to connect Islamabad.
Further the Islamabad to New Delhi track will also be the part of the network further extending to Kolkata and Dhaka in east.
According to Times of India reports, the network will be fully ready after construction of the missing links between countries and connecting the existing tracks within the member countries.
Indian policy makers want to bypass the areas in Assam and Manipur intentionally, as according to the new proposal, Dhaka should be connected to Jawahar Nagar in north Tripura, which is south of Mahisasan from where new lines will be laid to proceed towards Sairang in Mizoram from where it would be connected to an existing line at Ka Lay in Myanmar.
This is because; it will provide hassle-free travel without ‘bandhs' and violence. According to a source privy to the daily, “The UNESCAP plan is not final and there is room for modification.We plan to have Assam and Manipur connected to the network by trunk routes and trouble in these two states will not hamper traffic on the main TAR network.”
