Jalpaiguri: The Rail Roko at Jorai station by Greater Cooch Behar People's Association (GCPA) on Wednesday demanding statehood for Cooch Behar was called off after five hours. The snap strike threw rail communication with Northeast India out of gear as several important trains including the Vande Bharat were cancelled.
Despite the blockade being lifted following an assurance from the authorities, the situation is still far from normal.
The blockade by the GCPA at Jorai railway station in the Alipurduar division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) started at 6.45 am and was withdrawn around 11.45 am, following which normal train movement was restored.
Agitators said they were holding the "indefinite" rail blockade to press for their demand for the creation of ‘Greater Cooch Behar’.
Thousands of protesters had assembled at the station in the morning and blocked tracks, prompting the deployment of a large number of RPF, GRP and local police personnel to prevent any untoward incident, the NFR official said.
The 22227/22228 New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express and 15704/15703 Bongaigaon-New Jalpaiguri-Bongaigaon Express were cancelled owing to the agitation. At least eight trains were diverted via the New Coochbehar-Golakganj-Fakiragram route.
The trains that were diverted include the 20503 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12423 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 15657 Brahmaputra Mail and 15959 Kamrup Express.
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