Chirang locals demand resumption of rail services at Basugaon station
The trains have been suspended since Covid-19 & locals threatened of a larger protest if their demands are not fulfilled by August 26
Chirang, June 27: Locals in Chirang district staged a protest on Friday, seeking resumption of passenger rail services at Basugaon railway station, which have remain suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The protest was led by the Assam chapter of the Shiv Sena party and the All BTC E-Rickshaw Union, along with other local organisations.
Demonstrators took out a rally gathered at the Basugaon railway station, raising slogans such as “Fulfil our demands!” and “We want rail services!”
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, Assam Shiv Sena leader Shibu Chanda highlighted that several key passenger train halt at the Basugaon railway station were suspended during the pandemic and have yet to be reinstated.
“The Dhubri-Kamakhya intercity, Cooch Behar-Kamakhya intercity, and the Kanchenjungha Express stopped halting at Basugaon during the pandemic. Even now, those stoppages have not been restored,” he told The Assam Tribune.
He added that they also demanded for a halt of the Brahmaputra Mail at Basugaon, a request he said has repeatedly been ignored by the authorities.
The locals also demanded all express and mail trains in Kokrajhar, Dhubri-Kamakhya Intercity train at Salakati, Alipur-Lumding Intercity train at Chautara, and Siphoong Passenger trains at Chautara, Gosaigaon, and Srirampur.
They added that if the government did not fulfil their demands by August 26, they would lead a bigger protest.
“This is not the first time we are protesting for the resumption of these train services. . If the government does not fulfil our demands by August 26, we will take out a bigger protest at the Alipur Division Office,” one protestor told The Assam Tribune.
Earlier on Monday, a similar protest erupted at Mahishasan railway station in Sribhumi district near the Indo-Bangladesh border. Hundreds of locals staged a 'Rail Roko' demonstration demanding the resumption of regular rail services to Silchar, also suspended since since the pandemic.
Protestors lay on railway tracks and surrounded the station master's office, expressing their frustration over the long-pending issue.