Demanding a separate Greater Cooch Behar state, more than 5,000 agitators blocked the railway lines at Jorai railway station in Alipur Duar division on December 11 last year, resulting in the entire northeastern region being cut off from the railway network. was cut off from the rest of the country by GCPA has been leading the agitation for the past several years.
NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that as a result of this forced rail shutdown, the railways suffered a financial loss of Rs 5.61 crore. “Due to the financial loss caused by the venue, the Railways had issued a compensation notice through the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore Duar, to 20 GCPA leaders who had led the agitation on December 11 last year. In due course, action will be taken to compensate for the damages.”
Sharma said that as a result of the rail closure, several trains had to be canceled and several trains were diverted via alternate routes. He further said that the passengers traveling in the trains had to face a lot of difficulties.
The CPRO also said that the agitators created disturbances and disrupted the functioning of the railways and the blockade was completely unauthorized and the agitators obstructed the movement of the train, causing injury to passengers. Violated several provisions of the rules by endangering safety and trespassing on railway premises.
The on-duty Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police personnel and local police officials tried to resist the protesters several times through the public address system and loudspeakers and gave instructions to withdraw the protest. However, the protesters refused to remove the barrier from the railway track. The official said that all the steps taken by the security personnel on duty are being taken as per the law.
Sharma said that railways are seen as a soft target for many agitating groups, even though the group’s demands have nothing to do with railways. He pointed out that the crimes committed by such gangs are very serious and have far-reaching consequences that directly endanger the safety of passengers.
The CPRO said that the Railways will always work to maintain the safety and security of its passengers and will never be swayed by such groups with their illegitimate demands to make the Railways an easy and soft target. See as
NFR operates in seven districts of North Eastern states and West Bengal and five districts of North Bihar.