Mendipathar railway lets Garo Hills farmers sell in Guwahati same day: DC

Meghalaya's only railway station, at Mendipathar in North Garo Hills, has made it possible for farmers to take fresh vegetables to Guwahati, sell them and return home on the same day, the district's Deputy Commissioner MSN Marak said on Monday.

Marak was speaking to a team of Shillong-based journalists visiting the district and the station on a press tour organised by the state's Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), The Highland Post and Meghalaya Monitor reported.

What the railway has changed

According to the DC, rail connectivity has:

• cut transport costs for farmers sending produce out of the state;
• given growers access to Guwahati, where organic vegetables from the area are in high demand;
• lowered the price of essential goods by bringing them into the district directly;
• been used to move goods to and from larger cities such as Kolkata and Delhi.

She said districts without a railway face higher transport costs, and that rail infrastructure in North Garo Hills is being expanded, which she expected to draw investors and encourage industry.

The influx question

Asked about fears in the Khasi Hills that railways would bring an influx of outsiders, Marak said that in her district, people came in by road, not rail. "Since our district shares border with Assam, we see people coming through roadway and not from the railway," she said, according to Meghalaya Monitor.

The comment goes to the centre of Meghalaya's long-running railway debate. Pressure groups, especially in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, have opposed rail projects for years, fearing large-scale migration that could hurt the indigenous population. Some groups in the Garo Hills have also opposed extending the line beyond Mendipathar, which sits just inside Meghalaya near the Assam border.

Background

The Mendipathar-Guwahati line opened in 2014 and remains the state's only operational rail link. Proposed extensions into the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, including the Byrnihat-Shillong line, have been held up for years by local opposition. The DIPR-organised visit gave the district administration a chance to make the case that the existing line is helping farmers and traders.