Mizoram villagers on strike demanding compensation from railway

Aizawl: An indefinite strike has been called by a group of land owners in two villages affected by the construction of broad gauge railway between Sairan and Bairabi near Aizawl due to compensation claim from Wednesday.

Sihhmui village council president, J Laltlanthanga, said that certain land owners from Sairang and Sihhmui villages near Aizawl have decided to observed indefinite strike in the areas of additional land acquired for the broad gauge railway.

Laltlanthanga also said that more than 70 families, whose lands have been damaged by the ongoing construction, have not been paid till date.

All constructing agencies were asked to halt their works in additional land acquisition areas in and around Sairang and Sihhmui from Wednesday, he added.

“The strike will continue till the families were paid,” said Laltlanthanga, adding that the union ministry of railways delayed and failed to compensate the families for their lands.

He said that compensation for additional land acquisition along the Bairabi-Sairang railway was processed in 2016 and the deputy commissioner of Aizawl district in accordance with Railway Act 1989 had already proposed for the award of compensation in 2019.

The indefinite strike will be called off once the railway ministry compensate them for their damaged lands as per the assurance made by the deputy commissioner, said the council president.

The construction of a 51-km broad-gauge line between Sairang near Aizawl and Bairabi bordering Assam began in 2015 and was scheduled to be completed by 2022.

The railway line will include seven bridges and 23 tunnels.