Balurghat, Feb. 8: Railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav is set to allocate funds for the extension of the railway line from Balurghat to Hili in this year?s railway budget.

Executive engineer of Eklakhi-Balurghat rail project N.C. Talukder said a survey of the 28-km stretch was conducted after a directive from Delhi reached the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities.

By the first week of this month, the fieldwork was completed.

?We are now concentrating on paper work. The survey report will be sent to Malegaon (Northeast Frontier Railway headquarters) detailing the funds needed for the work. From there, the report will be sent to the railway ministry for final approval,? Talukder said.

While inaugurating the Eklakhi-Balurghat rail project on December 30, Laloo Prasad had announced that the railway line would be extended to Hili, the export zone to Bangladesh.

Union minister for water resources Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, who was also present at the inaugural programme, had urged the railway minister to approve the extension work.

According to Talukder, there will be four stations on the extended route.

CPM leader of Balurghat Sourin Sarkar has welcomed the railway minister?s move. ?We are grateful to the railway department for completing the survey work. We expect the railway minister to provide adequate funds for early completion of the project,? Sarkar said.

He said before the Partition, the people of Balurghat used to travel to Calcutta via Hili.

?But now when we see trains in Hili (in Bangladesh), we realise that we can?t board them,? he added.

Secretary of the Hili Exporters? and Customs Clearing Agents? Association Ashok Mondal said trade and commerce would get a boost after the completion of the extension work.

He added that traffic snarls on the roads were affecting the export business.

RSP MP from Balurghat Ranen Barman, too, claimed that the railway minister had assured him that funds would be allotted in the next budget for the project.