India's Bulletproof Train

ToI recently had an article on the most dangerous train ride in the country - a 103km trip from Lumding to Haflong in Assam, which has been repeatedly ambushed by militants.

Off late, there has been no activity after the Black Widow leader, Jewel Garosa was arrested two months ago. These militants understand the inconvenience and danger caused to the locals but they won't tolerate any movement of security forces along this route. As long as they spot army/police personnel, they will be target the trains. The locals however, have a second filler. They say there is a road transport lobby backed by a former Union minister which is using these forces to prevent goods trains from plying on the route.

20km en route, a forest area approaches. This is where the dangerous part begins. There are forces along the tracks with sand bagged walls et all. Between this point and the 32km mark, a train had been derailed by the warring lot, who'd removed 3metres of railway lines. The bogies are still lying on their side, engulfed by creepers and shrubs. After the 35km zone, the sabotage zone ends. "They prefer to shoot you after this point", says an official.

There are 37 tunnels along this section. Each station is fortified with bunkers and manned by jawans. Four stations were so vulnerable that they had to be closed down. Work on the broad gauge line is also affected. Appeals have been made to Mamata Bannerjee.

The enginer drivers are experienced and they can only smile in the face of this danger. They've seen things happen. And all they have for protection are bullet proof windows. "It's not possible to keep them shut all the time since it gets hot inside the engine", notes one driver. Also, if the militants choose to shoot from atop the hills, there is no cover for them. But they go about their job, just like their colleague Nityananda Bora did. A year ago, the militants had shot Bora several times but he still managed to reverse the engine into the tunnel in order to save lives. He was shot at point blank range soon enough. Bora was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace-time gallantry award.

It's an ongoing fight for the Hill Queen.