(Above)SUCI members protest on the tracks in Raiganj The notice declaring that the train has been cancelled (below) . Pictures by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Aug. 18: The only direct train from North Dinajpur to the state capital has been cancelled for three days leaving in the lurch hundreds of passengers who are spending almost double the time on road to reach Calcutta because of the dismal condition of NH34.

A heart patient died on way to a Siliguri nursing home after his family members decided to shift him there, instead of Calcutta where he had been referred to, when they heard that the Radhikapur-Calcutta Express had been cancelled from today. Baidyanath Sarkar’s

relatives alleged that the strain of travelling on the potholed road had been too much for him

“He looked ill yesterday and we decided to take him to Calcutta by train. However, the crowd on the platform deterred us. It seemed as if everyone wanted to reach Calcutta before the train stopped operating for three days. We decided to shift him to Siliguri. But the road route, which has National Highways 34 and 31, was dismal. Even a healthy person would fall ill. Doctors, who had recommended the train journey, said he could not take the strain of the road ride,” said Prasanta Das, Sarkar’s nephew.

It usually takes nine hours by road to reach Calcutta. But with the monsoon opening up more potholes on NH34, the time taken has doubled and that is why there is a huge demand for train tickets, railway sources said.

They said the order cancelling the train had come from the divisional railway manager of Katihar in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) yesterday. It stated that since Bridge 152 in the Eastern Railway’s Burdwan division was being repaired, the express train to Calcutta would not run from Monday to Wednesday. The order also stated that other important trains linking Calcutta to north Bengal would be diverted through the route taken by the Radhikapur-Calcutta Express.

After leaving Radhikapur, the express train that was introduced in November last year, takes the Barsoi-Malda-Azimganj-Katwa-Bandel route, terminating at the Calcutta terminal in Chitpur.

Today at Radhikapur station, 20km from here, there was a huge crowd of people who had come to get their tickets cancelled. “I had a reservation for today. I need to take my mother to Calcutta once a month for chemotherapy. Suddenly I heard that the train had been cancelled. Now I am in a fix as I have heard that the buses that earlier used to reach Calcutta at 6am now are late by eight hours. I cannot take the risk of such a long and gruelling journey for my mother,” said Bimal Ghosh who was standing in the queue.

Most people here are angry that even though the repairs are being carried out near Burdwan and other trains are being diverted through Radhikapur, the district town’s train connecting Calcutta has been cancelled.

“You should see the condition of NH34. We businessmen usually travel by train to Calcutta to get merchandise to be sold during Pujas. Gour Express, Darjeeling Mail, Saraighat Express and other trains have been diverted through our station and the train plying a designated route has been cancelled,” said Joynarayan Somani, the general secretary of the West Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce.

Tapan Chowdhury, a member of the NFR Users’ Consultative Committee and the secretary of the Nagarik Samiti, said the railways’ decision was whimsical. “We have already sent protest letters to the divisional railway manager at Katihar, the general manager of the NFR and to Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who is our MP. However, Das Munshi seems to be aloof to our problems and that is why the railways could take such a decision,” Chowdhury alleged. Babulal Raikwar, the divisional manager, could not be contacted.

While Das Munshi could not be reached, district Congress president Mohit Sengupta said he was unaware of people facing hardships because of the cancelled train.

The SUCI today set up a blockade on the tracks in protest against the cancellation. The Katihar-Radhikapur Passenger train was stuck in Raiganj for half an hour.