Fest nearby,Assam rebels blow up track

The police are trying to ascertain the group behind the incident. “We are investigating the incident,but are still not sure which group had triggered the explosion,” said VK Ramisetti,Superintendent of Police,Dima Hasao district.

Though both factions of the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) are currently under ceasefire with the government,the Dilip Nunisa faction had called an indefinite bandh in the hill district on Tuesday night,complaining of harassment by the police.

A spokesman of the Northeast Frontier Railway said though four coaches of the Barak Valley Express derailed due to the impact of the explosion,nobody was injured or killed in the incident. The derailed coaches of the train that was going from Lumding to Silchar included one brake-cum-luggage van and three general coaches.

The first Jatinga International Tourism Festival,however,had a colourful start with governor JB Patnaik inaugurating it. “Terrorism should now become a thing of the past and the people of Dima Hasao must now engage themselves in converting the beautiful hill district into an important tourist destination,” Patnaik said.

Jatinga,a tribal village about 10 kms from Haflong,the Dima Hasao district headquarters,is known for the mysterious mass suicide of birds that happen on moonless foggy nights between September and November. Hundreds of tourists,including bird-lovers,flock to Jatinga during these months to witness the bird suicides every year.

“The Jatinga International Festival is an attempt to regain the paradise that was lost due to the various socio-political dynamics and insurgency movement in the Dima Hasao district in the past few years,” said Kulendra Daulagupu,secretary-general of the festival organizing committee. Jatinga is connected to Guwahati by train through Lumding from where the Hill Queen Express takes the hill section through 29 tunnels to Haflong.