RAILWAY SERVICE

Demand to restore suspended railway service

Demands are getting geared up for revival of railway service along a suspended railway route. Locals at Changrabandha are planning to organise a movement to get the train service restored.

The railway service between Changrabandha to Siliguri via Malbazar is lying suspended for a long. The Changrabandha railway station is also lying idle. Locals are to request the next winner of the concerned Parliamentary constituency to take an initiative to revive the service.

Changrabandha is turning important as a place of international trade as the lone International Check Post of Cooch Behar district exists here. The revival of the Changrabandha-Siliguri train service may boost up the prospect of foreign trade, locals believe.

The political parties are too aware of the demand. They made it an issue during the electioneering in the recent Lok Sabha election. Residents of Changrabandha however believe in reality. At first, let the train ply again along this route, they said.

The Changrabandha-Malbazar-Siliguri railway route turned defunct after the devastating floods in 1968. During her tenure as the Union railway minister, the Trinamul Congress leader Miss Mamata Banerjee took an initiative and the route became operational again after about 26 years. It again turned defunct after her exit from the Union cabinet of ministers. It was said that the route might be revived after transforming it a broad-gauge one. But, nothing happened till date.

District Trinamul Congress vice-president Mr Niranjan Dutta said they conveyed the matter to Miss Mamata Banerjee. Movements were also organised on different occasions. "We hope, if the Congress-Trinamul Congress alliance comes to power the railway service may be restored without any delay", Mr Dutta said.

District Congress vice-president Mr Dipak Neogi too believes that the neglected railway route may be revived again in the greater interest of the local people and international trade.

The district president of the All India Youth League, Mr Abdur Rauf said restoring of the train service along this route is very much needed. "We are going to organise a fresh movement to get the route alive again", he said. As the area is agriculture based the growers of the locality and adjoining areas like Kuchlibari, Changrabandha, Bhotbari, Nijtaraf and Bagdogra-Fulkadabri are not getting adequate price against their produces due to lack of the train service. The cost of transportation of goods by roadway is much higher than the railway tariff. Once the suspended route revived the farmers may be able to sent their produces to outer markets and that may turn the local economy healthier, Mr Rauf opined.