Silent rally against police firing

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 12: Condemning the police firing that killed five Forward Bloc activists at Dinhata on 5 February, the FB supporters took out silent rallies at different areas in Cooch Behar district today. They wore black badges and tied their faces with black cloths to protest the atrocities done by the police. State secretariat member of the party and Cooch Behar (West) MLA Mr Akshoy Thakur said the programme was held throughout the state today to ventilate their hatred and grievance against the brutality of the police. []

 

Employees' state meet ends

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 12: The forty-first biennial state conference of West Bengal Group-D Government Employees' Association concluded today. More than eight hundred delegates form different districts had attended the four-day conference. The association of group-D employees is the largest organisation affiliated with the State Co-ordination Committee.

 

A 61-member working committee and 24-member central secretariat were formed from the conference. Mr Jaydeb Chakraborty and Mr Biplab Dey Sarkar were appointed president and secretary respectively.

 

During the four-day conference the delegates criticised the contractual system of appointment in government departments. It is a bid to replace the permanent appointment system, they alleged. They also condemned the government for keeping vacant posts lying vacant for a long because the existing employees have to bear the workload. This is also encouraging unnecessary expenditure of government money, they observed.

 

The delegates demanded strict measures to stop corruption in the administrative system and strict implementation of the punctual attendance policy. They also demanded introduction of Bengali as mandatory at all levels in government offices and releasing of notifications and instructions in Bengali. []

 

New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 12: The New Railway Demand Committee (NRDC) is considering a plan to launch a fresh movement for speedy implementation of the long awaited New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway project.

 

NRDC joint convenor Mr Chandi Pal said they would discuss over the issue at their meeting on 14 February. The railway authority should complete implementation of the whole project within the stipulated period. A fresh movement plan for speedy implementation of the project will be decided in the NRDC meeting, he added.

 

Yesterday, the chairman of the Railway Standing Committee Mr Basudeb Acharya (MP) announced in Cooch Behar that the New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway project is going to be a matter of reality. After a meeting with senior officials of Northeast Frontier Railway including the general manager (construction) and leaders of New Railway Demand Committee he said that trains are likely to run between New Cooch Behar and Golokganj in Assam by December 2009.

 

Mr Acharya came here yesterday to visit the progress of work of the long awaited New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway project. He started his visit from Madhupur and went upto Baxirhat adjacent to Assam-Bengal border. NRDC leaders including Cooch Behar MP (Rajya Sabha) Mr Tarini Roy, Natabari MLA Md Tamser Ali and joint convenor of NRDC Mr Chandi Pal accompanied him. Later, he held a meeting with senior NF Railway officials and NRDC leaders at Circuit House.

 

Surveying the progress of work in Cooch Behar district along the proposed 235-km railway route the RSC chairman said that the progress was not upto the expectation. Acquisition of remaining lands needed for the project may be completed by 15 April, he hoped. Though the work of the project is going slowly he hoped that by united effort trains might start plying between New Cooch Behar and Golokganj by December 2009. The entire project is likely to be completed by 2012.

 

Mr Acharya said people and political parties of this region fought for the New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway route for a long. It is a very important railway route. Once launched it will be easier to carry local agricultural produces quickly to Guwahati by train, he opined. Surely it will boost up economic scenario of this region.

 

Before partition of the country it was possible to arrive Kolkata within six hours. "I shall request the Prime Minister to consider reviving the old railway route from Haldibari to Sealdah through Bangladesh. It turned defunct in 1952. The PM should take up the matter with the Bangladesh government", Mr Acharya said.

 

Mr Acharya informed that Agartala is going to come in railway map and train services will begin there in June of this year. Establishing a rail link with Bhutan is also on the cards. []