The North-East Border Railway (NFR) on Friday bussed more than one exercise rider from Bangladesh to their destinations after being stranded due to a blockade in Jalpaiguri district.
Sources said Mitali Express which runs between New Jalpaiguri and Dhaka Cantonment was struck at Haldibari station because of the blockade organised by the residents of Kerarpara village to demand the stop of a local train.
Many felt that the “international status” of the train had probably prompted the NFR to rush buses to transport the stranded passengers of Mitali Express to their destinations.
According to police sources, the blockade of Kerarpara, located about 23 kilometers from the city of Jalpaiguri, began at 7:30 a. m. “It is not easy for a passenger exercise running between New Jalpaiguri and Haldibari (located about 30 kilometers from Jalpaiguri) to prevent in Kerarpara,” a source said.
When the blockade began, the railways had to impede the NJP-bound Mitali Express at Haldibari and delay the departure of the Haldibari-Calcutta Superfast Express. Haldibari railway station is 7 km from the blockade site.
“Many of the passengers on the Mitali Express were tourists and some were also coming from the neighbouring country to join their relatives in India,” said one.
Around nine o’clock in the morning, three buses were ready to arrive at Haldibari station.
“By 9.30am, all 146 passengers were ferried to NJP and Siliguri by the buses,” said a source in the railway.
Sabyasachi De, the chief public relations officer of the NFR, said: “We arranged buses to ferry the passengers of Mitali Express to NJP so that they did not have to face inconveniences.”
The sudden disruption of the train was a miracle to many passengers on the foreign train, but they appreciated the speed of the railway authorities.
“I will be visiting Darjeeling for the first time with members of my family. The sudden interruption of the trip came as a surprise, but an agreement of choice was immediately reached,” said Nur Jahan Begum, a resident of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She and her family of nine are visiting Darjeeling.
Samsul Haque, another Dhaka resident, on his way to meet his relatives.
“At first we were worried about the delay,” Haque said.
As soon as the blockade started, police rushed to the spot.
Local people demanded assurances from the railway that a ticket counter would open and the local train would stop at Kerarpara, which is in Nandanpur-Boalmari panchayat of Jalpaiguri Sadar block.
“The passenger exercise was stopped in Kerarpara for more than 10 years. But the lockdown was lifted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown was a wonderful help to the locals, but after the pandemic, the lockdown was not reinstated,” said Sufal Sarkar. The head of the panchayat.
“In the past we had also called for the exercise to be stopped, but the government did not take any action,” he added.
De said the local exercise in Kerarpara had been cancelled due to declining passenger numbers. “When the villagers staged a similar protest a few months ago, our officials went to the site and told them that if they didn’t secure themselves due to the availability of passengers, it would not be imaginable to order a blockade. “