Sigh of relief for rail passengers

SHILLONG: With the reopening of railway lines in Cooch Behar from Tuesday evening passengers heaved a sigh of relief.
The demand for ‘C’ category statehood or the status of Union Territory for Cooch Behar in Northern Bengal in the Eastern Indian state of West Bengal by the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA) has hit the railways hard.  Many passengers and tourists from Meghalaya other regional states were unable to travel since most trains had to be cancelled following the intensified ‘Rail Roko’ by GCPA in Cooch Behar on which most trains from the northeastern region are dependent.
Also known by the name of Chicken’s Neck – the narrow 14 miles Siliguri corridor, with borders of Bangladesh and Nepal on each side, in Northern Bengal that connects NE region with the rest of the country – the GCPA agitation has left numerous trains cancelled since last Saturday.
Of them are the Howrah bound trains, such as, Saraighat Express, Kanchanjunga Express followed by Guwahati – Bangalore Express, Dibrugarh – Chandigarh Express and several others were cancelled in the last four days by the railway authorities following the unrest in North Bengal.
It is learnt that only New Delhi bound Rajdhani Express and few other important trains have been allowed through Cooch Behar after diverting their routes in this Eastern Indian state.