Birpara residents in Alipurduar observed a 24-hour general strike on Wednesday, protesting the loading and unloading of dolomite mined in Bhutan at their local railway station and demanding the location be shifted as the practice led to extensive air pollution.

The railways should find a separate location outside the town to carry out the work, they said, adding their health was suffering because of it.

Alipurduar district shares borders with Bhutan. Dolomite is mined in some locations of Bhutan.

“From Bhutan, trucks carry dolomite to Dalgaon, the railway station in Birpara. The dolomite is stacked in piles beside the railway tracks. Later, it is loaded in rakes and transported to different locations across India,” said Chatur Panoar, secretary of the Voice of Birpara, a social organisation that called the strike.

“This loading and unloading of dolomite leads to massive air pollution, causing health problems for people in and around Birpara. That is why we want the railways and other authorities concerned to use an alternative location. No steps were taken for years. Hence, we decided to call the strike,” he added.

Many political parties, trade bodies and other organisations supported the bandh.

Birpara remained closed throughout the day. Vehicular movement between Birpara and Bhutan got disrupted. However, traffic on AH48 that moves through the town remained unaffected.

On Wednesday morning, hundreds of people, particularly women, hit the streets. They resorted to picketing and demonstrated in some locations.

They said that every day, around 300 trucks carry dolomite to the Dalgaon station, which is in the middle of Birpara.

Amarjit Gautam, the divisional railway manager (Alipurduar division) of Northeast Frontier Railway, said they had certificates from the state pollution control board saying pollution was under control. “Still, we want to shift the site but need land for it,” he said.

Alipurduar BJP MP Manoj Tigga said: “This is a major problem for Birpara residents. The railway authorities asked for a 7.16-acre plot to shift the site, but the state has not given it so far."

A district administration source said that in cases like these, the Centre communicates with the state. “If instructions reach us to find out and provide land to the railways, we will act on it,” said an official.