The Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express that was halted at Falakata on Monday. (Anirban Choudhury)

Alipurduar, July 23: A rail blockade in Assam’s Kokrajhar that has witnessed ethnic clashes, led to several trains, including two Rajdhanis, to be halted today for about six hours.

Late in the afternoon, the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, stopped between Choutara and Gosaigaon stations in Assam around 9am, was allowed to run.

Trains to the Northeast have to cross Jalpaiguri to enter Assam, hence the spill-over effect in neighbouring north Bengal because of the ethnic clashes in Assam that fuelled the rail blockade today.

At 12.52pm, the Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express was stuck at Falakata station. It left at 4.50pm, but was stopped again at New Cooch Behar after 20 minutes following reports of fresh violence in Choutara in Assam.

Other trains that were halted were the Guwahati-bound North East Express, detained at Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri, the Dibrugarh-bound Kamrup Express at Kamakhyaguri, the Guwahati-bound Avadh Assam Express at New Alipurduar, the Howrah-bound Kamrup Express and the Dibrugarh-Brahmaputra Mail to Delhi at Rangia in Assam.

Sources in the railways in Alipurduar said they had received a note from Assam saying trains in north Bengal must stay at the stations where they have halted now till further notice from the Assam state administration.

The protesters on the rail tracks today demanded restoration of law and order in Kokrajhar that has seen three days of ethnic clashes that has claimed 19 lives.

Several thousands have been moved to relief camps in the four Bodo-dominated districts in Assam.

Some of the passengers on the Guwahati-bound Rajdhani became annoyed after the train was stopped at Falakata.

Harish Agarwal, a trader from Paltanbazar in Guwahati, said: “My mother has had an operation in AIIMS, New Delhi, and after two months she is returning home. Just to provide comfort to my mother, I got the ticket in the Rajdhani Express. But even in a train like this one, she is facing problems. Then which train should we take to reach our destination smoothly?”

Ankan Trivedi, a student of astrophysics studying in Bangalore and going to Shillong, said: “I have urgent work for which I am going home in Shillong and I will return tomorrow by air from Guwahati. But because of this unnecessary delay, I don’t know when I will reach home and how I will return tomorrow by air. This is just disgusting.”

Shitushing Hajong, the chief public relations officer of Northeast Frontier Railway, said over phone from Guwahati: “The railway has been forced to detain all the trains at the nearest stations just for the safety of the passengers.”