From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: Train services between Guwahati and rest of the country were disrupted for about eight hours on Tuesday morning due to ‘rail roko’ (railway blockade) agitation of All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRASU).
The a senior public relations official of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) here informed that AKRASU agitators blocked rail traffic at various places between Guwahati and Kokrajhar in Lower Assam including Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Salakati hampering the train movements for about eight hours till 11-30 A.M.
Many important trains like Guwahati-Delhi Rajdhani Express, Northeast Express, Guwahati-Kolkata Kamrup Express, Kokrajhar Guwahati inter-city Express had to be controlled at various locations due to the agitation much to inconvenience of passengers. The train service could be restored from 12 noon after the agitators moved away from the railway track.
The AKRASU has launched the agitation to press for a separate Kamatapur State for Koch-Rajbongshi community comprising certain parts of lower Assam and north Bengal. Another key demand of the community is for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Koch-Rajbongshi is an ethnic community in Assam with a population of over 70 lakh. The community’s presence is discernible in Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Darrang, Sonitpur, Kamrup , Chirang, Baska districts of Assam.
Many parts of Koch-Rajbongshi dominated areas in the State now are under Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the autonomous council for Bodo tribe people granted as per Bodo Peace Accord of 1983.