Official sources said that General Manager (GM), Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Rajesh Kumar Singh arrived here today.

During the visit, the GM would inspect the railway construction work from Agartala to Udaipur which has run into rough weather due to land acquisition problems even after compensation was paid to the land owners.

The Agartala-Udaipur rail extension project is scheduled to be completed by end of this year while the NFR plans to extend the rail connectivity upto Sabroom by end of next year.

Interestingly, some land owners are reluctant to give up their plots even after receiving compensation from the district administration. The problem was discussed at a high level meeting held recently.

The NFR GM would also pay a visit to Akhaura to review the progress in the proposed rail connectivity between Agartala and Gangasagar (Bangladesh).

The Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON) and the NFR have jointly initiated the fixing of alignment for the proposed Agartala-Gangasagar rail link.

Both IRCON and NFR have been working to materialise the dream rail project. A three-member team of IRCON-NFR headed by the General Manager Bijoy Behara met the Transport Secretary to discuss the project here in January last.

The IRCON, specialised in transport infrastructure, wants to set up an office at Badharghat to expedite the Indo-Bangla rail link. However, land for setting up the IRCON office has not been decided yet.

According to the joint survey, of the total 15 kilometer (km) proposed rail link, five km will be laid on the Indian side while the remaining 10 km will be established on Bangladesh soil. The rail link will be in BG format and the estimated cost of the Indo-Bangla rail link will be around INR 252 crore.

Before leaving the State, he may have a meeting with Chief Secretary SK Panda to brief him about the progress of the ongoing railway projects in Tripura. On April 21, the GM isscheduled to leave the State on a special train.