The Bengal government has suggested that the Centre resume trade with Bangladesh on cargo trains through the Gede (Nadia)-Darshana (the first station on the Bangladesh side) rail route instead of roads as there are “local issues, emotive issues and fear of contagion”.

“There were communications between the Centre and the state on the issue (cross-border trade). The border points the Centre was mentioning, keeping international trade in mind, there are some local issues, emotive issues and fear of contagion,” Alapan Bandopadhyay, the Bengal home secretary, said at a media briefing in Nabanna on Saturday.

“One of the proposals (sent to the Centre) was to start goods movement through railway tracks via Gede. It is comparatively safe and acceptable (to all),”he said.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla had recently written to Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha asking him to allow movement of goods vehicles through the India-Bangladesh land borders. “The state government made its point clear to the Centre that there were local agitations and it would not be able to bulldoze them,” said a state government official.

The Bengal government said that initially bilateral trade had been allowed under certain restrictions through Petrapole in North 24-Parganas, but it had to be stopped within a couple of days because of protests.

Sources said the Gede-Darshana rail route had never been considered seriously for freight movement.

“More than 70 per cent of the India-Bangladesh goods movement takes place through roads. It is time to think in a different way to save a large part of North 24-Parganas from facing a disaster,” a bureaucrat said.