DIMAPUR:
The Dimapur Naga Students’ Union (DNSU), on July 20, sought Nagaland government’s response to the allegations made by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on encroachment of railway land.
The student body referred to a news report published in the local media that the chief public relations officer (PRO), NFR, Lumding division, had alleged that 30.283 hectares out of 53.806 hectares had been infringed. The PRO had also lamented the unsatisfactory assistance received from the state government both in the demarcation of land boundaries and removal of encroachers from the railway land.
Following the allegations by the NFR, the DNSU demanded the officers involved in issuing random land deeds be suspended and for disclosure of the identity of whoever is responsible for such blunders. The union reminded all concerned that the said land is not “personal property”. It said no officer has the authority to sell or issue land deeds for his/her personal interest.
Urging the state government to “review” the allegations made by the NFR, the DNSU, in a release, questioned why it has not responded to the charges.
The union also supported the statement given by Dimapur MLAs to set up an inquiry committee to verify the allegations made by NFR, and also questioned the NFR on why the matter was not brought to the public domain.
On the sole train terminal in Dimapur, the union said the railway serves as the lifeline for almost 90 per cent of the student community studying outside the state and that it had received multiple complaints as the terminal has now been shifted somewhere else.
“To make matters worse, even the only Nagaland Express has lost its space in Dimapur as it has been hijacked by the NFR’s decision,” it said. The union urged the state government to bring it back to where it belongs.