Agnipath protests reach Bengal; admin top brass holds marathon meeting

Kolkata: The wave of protests against the Centre's new tri-service recruitment scheme – Agnipath – on Friday reached West Bengal where aspiring youths took out rallies and blocked trains in several areas. There were, however, no reports of any violence, the police said.

The top brass of the state administration held a marathon meeting with the district administration and instructed them to take strong measures to prevent any chaotic situation.

All police stations, including those in Kolkata, have been asked to remain alert and vigilant.

The dissent spread from Bihar to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh as well as parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. In Bihar, the protesters torched train coaches at Islampur railway station in Nalanda and Danapur railway station in Patna.

This led to congestion of trains in the Eastern Central Railway (ECR) which also impacted those originating from West Bengal and moving through these areas.

Considering the situation, Eastern Railway cancelled 31 trains, short terminated 13 and rescheduled five trains on Friday.

Due to the agitation in East Central Railway jurisdiction, 13023 UP Howrah – Gaya Express was cancelled on Friday.

Protesters blocked Howrah Bridge and Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas. The agitation in Thakurnagar started at around 11 am. The protesters blocked the railway tracks for an hour or two which led to the disruption of the Bangaon-Sealdah route.

Another protest was outside the house of Union Minister of State for Ports and Shipping Shantanu Thakur. The situation remained volatile in other districts like Purulia where the police had to resort to lathicharge in order to disperse the crowd who had blocked the Barakar Road.

Protesters have been demanding that the Central government immediately withdraw the scheme and continue the usual recruitment process which ensures that a soldier gets a minimum service period of 15 years.

Meanwhile, protests spilled over to Siliguri as well on Friday. Youths, mainly aspirants for the armed forces, claimed that their future will be jeopardized.

Hundreds of aspirants from different parts of North Bengal gathered at the Army Recruitment office in Salugarah, Siliguri — the starting point of the protests. Incidentally in January 2021, the aspirants had appeared for medical and physical fitness examinations to join the armed forces.

"They had then told us that we would be called for written examinations in April 2021. When we enquired in April, they told us that the exams were postponed for two months. The same continued throughout 2021 and now they are telling us that the exam has been cancelled. Fresh recruitment process will commence under the Agnipath scheme. Our future is bleak," stated Manoj Chettri, a protester.

With the Army Recruitment office washing their hands off stating that all decisions are taken from Delhi, the youths launched a protest rally, carrying posters and the Indian Tricolour. The posters carried messages like "Boycott Tour of Duty. Conduct the regular army CEE Exam."

The rally passed through the main thoroughfares of the town, including Sevok Road, Bidhan Road, Hasmi Chowk. At Hashmi Chowk, they staged a sit-in. When the rally reached the Pipeline area of NJP, a large police contingent stopped them and asked them to return. The youths then sat on the road and continued to protest.

Around eight youths, representing the eight districts of North Bengal handed over a memorandum to the SDO, Siliguri.