West Bengal: Train services affected as outfit demanding separate state blocks tracks in Jalpaiguri

Jalpaiguri (WB), Jan 19 (PTI) Train services were affected as members of the All Kamtapur Students’ Union (AKSU) blocked the railway tracks in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Friday morning for a few hours to press for their demand of a separate state.

The blockade at the Betgara station in the New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) began at 7 am and continued for around three hours before RPF and state police officers could persuade the protesters to withdraw it, officials said.

The blockade was lifted after prolonged persuasions, NFR spokesperson Sabyasachi De said.

“Trains have started moving towards their destinations,” he said.

Among the trains affected by the protest was the New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati Vande Bharat Express, officials said.

The protesters raised slogans against both the TMC and BJP for not fulfilling their demand.
The AKSU is the students’ wing of the Kamtapur People’s Party United, which is agitating for a separate Kamtapur state, carved out of northern parts of West Bengal and western Assam.