The Rail Roko movement staged by the Greater Coochbehar People’s Association entered its second day on Sunday affecting services of train, including Guwahati Rajdhani Exprress, North East Express, Kanchenjanga Express et al, Railway authorities said. The movement took its first casualty on Sunday when a seriously ill person succumbed inside Kanchenjanga Express as he could not be rushed to the hospital on time.
Taking a cue from agitators in Haryana GCPA leader Bangshi Badan Burman who had been demanding a separate Coochbehar State for more than a decade started a fresh movement from Saturday demanding direct talks with the Centre.
While the Railways said it was a law and order issue the State refused to intervene even as the passengers suffered due to the snapping of rail link between the rest of India and the North East. “Many trains have been cancelled and some have been diverted,” NF Railway CPRO said.
GCPA refuses to accept the decision to declare Coochbehar a district of Bengal and instead claims the Instrument of Accession signed by the last Kind said Coochbehar would join India as a separate State.