Tripura, Mizoram ration fuel as heavy rains in Assam disrupt rail lines

Tripura and Mizoram have started rationing petroleum products after rail services from Assam were disrupted because of heavy rains since last week, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

Fuel and other essential supplies are transported to the two states through goods trains. A disruption in rail links can lead to supply shortages.

Heavy rains in Assam this week have left eight persons dead and have affected over 4 lakh residents. The rains have affected crops over 32,944.52 hectares of land, according to a report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday evening.

The Northeast Frontier Railway on Tuesday said that train tracks in Assam’s Lumding-Badarpur section have been damaged. Rail links with Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Assam’s Barak Valley have been disrupted, it said.

Tripura’s food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department on Tuesday ordered petrol pumps to ration the sale of petroleum products.

“Tripura has sufficient stock of essentials including fuel which is expected to last for some more days,” said Director Tapan Kumar Das. “We have taken stock of the matter. Work to restore railway connectivity is underway and hopefully it will resume soon.”

On Monday, Mizoram’s food, civil supplies and consumer department also told pump owners to ration petrol till further orders, The Times of India reported. After the order, long queues were reportedly seen at fuel stations.

There is no order to ration high-speed diesel.

Sabyasachi De, the central public relations officer for the Northeast Frontier Railway, said that rough weather and difficult terrain was hampering restoration of railway tracks. “Once the weather becomes conducive, restoration work is expected to gain momentum,” the official said, according to the Hindustan Times. “Till now, we have completed restoration work at 12 locations.”