Cooch Behar, Sept. 29 -- Tension gripped the New Cooch Behar area on Tuesday as members of the New Cooch Behar Citizens' Committee stopped the Railway authorities from starting construction of a guard wall, claiming that the project could severely restrict access to schools, banks, residential areas and market complexes.
The Railway authorities have undertaken construction of the guard wall after removing shops located on railway land. When work was scheduled to begin in the area west of New Cooch Behar on Tuesday, members of the citizens' committee reached the spot and stopped the construction. Railway Police and the West Bengal Police's RAF were deployed to prevent any escalation. The situation later returned to normal.
Citizens' Committee president Kanak Sarkar said: "We are not against the development of the railway. However, the way the guard wall is being constructed, the movement of schools, banks, residential houses and market complexes in the area may be practically stopped. There may be problems in the entry of ambulances and fire engines in case of any accident or emergency."
Committee members said they would discuss the issue with Cooch Behar North MLA Sukumar Roy and place alternative proposals before the Railway authorities.
They claimed that while they had sought a month to hold discussions with the Railways, they were given only seven days.
The committee has urged the Railway authorities to reconsider the plan and explore alternative measures to resolve the issue. Sukumar Roy said: "I will talk to the local residents and then comment on the matter."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.