NFR has incurred Rs 100 cr loss in agitation against CAA

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Tuesday said it has incurred a loss of over Rs 100 crore till December 30 due to the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

NFR chief public relations officer Subhanan Chanda said the impact started from December 9 in the areas within the jurisdiction of NFR.

The NFR incurred losses not only due to damages caused to railway properties by the protestors, but also due to cancellation of passenger trains and goods carrying trains to and from the zone to other zones, Chanda said.

"Cumulative loss incurred by NFR crossed Rs 100 crore till December 30, 2019. The damages inflicted include burning down of railway stations, destruction of railway tracks, level crossing gates, burning of important communication and other electronic gears," he said.

The damages caused to railway properties in Tinsukia, Katihar, Lumding, Rangiya divisions is about Rs 10 crore, he added.

The loss incurred in passenger income is Rs 30.13 crore, in freight earnings Rs 63.42 crore and the loss in parcel income is Rs 5.05 crore from December 9 to 30 this year.

During this period, about 38.86 lakh passengers could not travel in NFR due to cancellations of trains, he said.

"While NFR immediately swung into action to restore train services after improvement in law and order situation by introducing manual train operations in some affected portions, the damages caused in other sections are still being repaired," the official said.

Peaceful protests have been continuing across all districts in the Brahmaputra valley since Assam witnessed one of the worst violent protests by the public in its history. Three rail stations, post office, bank, bus terminus, shops, dozens of vehicles and many other public properties were set ablaze or totally damaged since December 9.

Five persons, including four in firing by security forces, have lost their lives since December 11, when the Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.