The closure notice put up at the Dalimgaon station. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Dec. 29: The closure of the only ticket counter at Dalimgaon railway station has added another weapon to Deepa Das Munshi’s armoury to snipe at Mamata Banerjee.

The railway authorities cited staff shortage for stopping ticket sales at Dalimgaon in Kaliaganj on Tuesday. Dalimgaon, 40km from here, falls under Deepa’s Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency.

The MP said the closure of the counter was the latest in a series of decisions taken by Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamul Congress to subject Raiganj to privation.

“This is nothing but a politically-motivated act by the railways. I will personally meet railway minister Dinesh Trivedi and ask him what is going on,” Deepa said over the phone from New Delhi today.

Deepa and Mamata are known to be bitter political rivals. The MP had taken on Mamata on several issues, including the move by the state government to shift the proposed super speciality hospital from Raiganj and alleged attacks on Congress workers by Trinamul activists in Malda district.

“Writers’ Buildings is sitting on land acquisition for the AIIMS-like facility. Mamata had announced a direct train from Radhikapur to Delhi as the railway minister. But the railways have only launched a train with general bogies that joins the Katihar-Delhi Gharib Rath. She had also announced a Radhikapur-New Jalpaiguri inter-city train, but it is yet to be introduced. The only direct train from Radhikapur to Calcutta is the first to be cancelled without any announcement if the railways face any minor problem,” said Deepa.

Deepa had taken out a procession in Calcutta with North Malda MP Mausam Noor in tow to demand an end to alleged atrocities by Trinamul on Congress supporters.

According to sources in the Northeast Frontier Railway, the Dalimgaon station was opened in 1927. On the evening of December 27, the railway authorities put up a notice at the ticket counter, saying it would remain shut till further notice because of staff shortage.