Falakata Station: TMC protests over negligence by Railways

Alipurduar: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) staged a protest at Falakata railway station on Tuesday, alleging negligence by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

The party claimed that modernisation work at the station under the Amrit Bharat project, which began long ago, has been stalled, causing severe inconvenience to passengers.

The protest, organised by the Falakata Town Block Trinamool Congress, saw a day-long sit-in demonstration demanding the resumption of stalled work. Protesters also raised concerns over the absence of stoppages for South India-bound trains at Falakata station, a long-standing demand of local residents. Additionally, they criticised the poor condition of infrastructure at the station. The NH-17/D highway passing through the town; the road from the highway to the station, and an approximately 2.5 km stretch have remained in a dilapidated state for years. TMC demanded that if the Railways are unwilling to repair the road, it should be handed over to the Falakata Municipality for maintenance.

Protesters also highlighted the lack of streetlights in the station area, the alleged exploitation of hawkers, and what they called “abnormal rent collection” from shopkeepers. They further accused railway authorities of extorting large sums of money from hawkers operating on moving trains.Local Ward No. 4 Trinamool councillor Ashim Dev said: “Despite repeated demands, the railway has taken no action. This negligence is unacceptable.”

Falakata Town Block Trinamool Congress President Shubhabrata Dey added, “We have submitted deputations to the railways twice with legitimate demands, but no action has been taken. This protest is a warning. If the authorities continue to ignore us, we will escalate our movement with

a rail blockade.”