Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Sunday said that it is looking to transport fuel to Tripura through Bangladesh as the rail network has been discontinued due to massive landslides in Assam.

After the only rail link connecting Dima Hasao, Barak Valley, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura with the rest of the country was washed away earlier this month, IOC started moving all its supplies by road via Meghalaya, bearing more than double the cost.

The company is planning to send its convoys of fuel through Dawki in Meghalaya to Bangladesh. It will then re-enter India at Kailashahar in Tripura. Once the discussion is finalised and an agreement is signed, the Indian Oil-AOD will move its products from primarily Betkuchi depot in Guwahati to Dharmanagar depot in Tripura through the neighbouring nation.

After the destruction of the rail link, the IOC is supplying all its fuel through the road via Meghalaya.

Notably, the Indian Railways has begun the restoration works to rebuild the railway infrastructure damaged in Dima Hasao, which was ravaged by floods and landslides.

According to the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), incessant rains caused floods and landslides which damaged the railway network at 60 locations in Dima Hasao under the 170 kilometer long Lumding-Badarpur section.

The Union ministry of railways recently sanctioned Rs 180 crores for the restoration of the network in the hill district that was ravaged by the recent floods. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier met with Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi on Sunday and assured to complete the restoration of railway network by July 10 this year.

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