Manipur Governor Pays Homage To Fallen Territorial Army Soldiers At Key Railway Project Site

Manipur Governor La Ganesan today visited the battalion headquarters of the 107 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (TA) 11 GR in Noney and paid homage to the fallen soldiers of the TA. They were killed while on security duty at an important railway project site in Noney after a massive landslide struck them in June this year.

The railway project in Manipur's Noney that the TA protects would put the state - surrounded by hills - on the broad gauge railway map and is a key project of the central government.

"The Hon'ble Governor paid homage to the fallen soldiers of Tupul at the Unit Memorial. The Commanding Officer briefed the Governor about the task being performed by the Gorkha Terriers in support of this Mega Project of National Importance," a statement said.

"The Hon'ble Governor was highly appreciative of the yeoman service rendered by the unit without which the project would have remained a dream," it said.

The Governor also tweeted photos of his visit to Noney and spoke about his meeting with residents of the area.

During the Noney Dist visit I met the families of the villagers of the Makhuam landslide victims
Also visited & had a view of the Makhuam landslide hill where 79 people were affected in the unfortunate incident on 29th/30th June '22
I prayed there for the souls to attain moksha pic.twitter.com/jXb49zLHGM

— Governor of Manipur (@manipurgovernor) December 6, 2022

Manipur Governor La Ganesan pays his respects to fallen soldiers at the battalion headquarters of the 107 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (TA) 11 GR in Noney

President Droupadi Murmu in October inaugurated a train between Tripura's capital Agartala and Manipur's Khongsang, a hilly area where construction of the rail line has been a challenging task due to the topography and threats from insurgents during the initial phase of the project.

In addition to railway engineers, project planners and numerous other officials, the TA contribution to securing the project has enabled the work to speed up.

"Their [TA's] steadfastness, hard work determination and sacrifice resulted in creating a safe environment wherein the railways could work unhindered and achieve success," a source had told NDTV in October.

"The railway authorities have been extremely appreciative for the umbrella cover provided by the Territorial Army, without whom the project wouldn't had seen its dawn," the source had said.

The project to connect a major part of Manipur with a broad-gauge line faced numerous security problems in the early stages

The TA is a part of the regular army and its role is to relieve the regular army from static duties and help the civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services. The TA also provides units for the regular army whenever needed.

The centre had included the Jiribam-lmphal railway project in its Budget 2003-2004. The project started in 2008 and was declared a "national project" owing to its importance. The construction work started in 2013. The construction activities speeded up significantly after the deployment of the TA in 2019 for the workers' and infrastructure security.