COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 16: Members and supporters of the New Railway Demand Committee (NRDC) will organise demonstrations at New Cooch Behar rail station premises tomorrow. They will also organise a three-hour sit-in there starting from 10 a.m. To make the agitation programme successful they will mobilise hundreds of supporters at New Cooch Behar tomorrow. This plan was adopted at a meeting of the NRDC held at Rasik-bil in Tufanganj in July. Executive members of the NRDC from Cooch Behar and Assam attended that meeting. Mentionworthy, the NRDC is struggling since 1995 for a new rail route from New Maynaguri of Jalpaiguri district to Jogighopa in Assam. 

The joint convener of NRDC and also the convener of Cooch Behar district Left Front Mr Chandi Pal said today that they are getting ready to submit complaints against concerned railway officials for delay in implementing the New Maynaguri–Jogighopa railway project. A NRDC delegation will go to New Delhi on 20 August. There they will submit a memorandum to the Union railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav. They will request the minister to complete the project within the time frame as declared by the railway authority. 

Mr Pal said that following their massive movement the railway authorities had to declare that trains would ply between New Cooch Behar and Dhubri (Assam) along the proposed new rail route by 2007. But, seeing the slow progress of work it is suspected that the promise may not be kept, he said. They suspected this by observing the slow progress in conversion of rail track from Metre Gauge to Broad Gauge, he added. He made it clear that they are not ready to allow anyone to make the project a suspended one. Now, finding no alternative they decided to take the path of movement to get the railway that is very much needed for the development of this region, he declared. At least ten thousand people may gather at New Cooch Behar to participate in the agitation tomorrow, he hoped. 

The NRDC leaders will also submit a memorandum to the Union road transport and national highways minister Mr TR Baloo at New Delhi on 20 August. They will demand introduction of water transport service on Bay of Bengal through Brahmaputra in Assam. Shipping service was there in Brahmaputra in the past and this is required again to carry merchandise produced in this region. 

Recently a Central survey team visited Dhubri and reportedly demanded 8-bigha land only. On such a small piece of land a seaport cannot be built and this raised doubt over the intention of the authorities, Mr Pal said. They will request the minister to reintroduce the waterway and shipping service. If they get no positive response from the minister they will have to organise a massive movement as they did for the New Maynaguri- Jogighopa railway, Mr Pal said. The Centre should be held responsible for any violation of law and order situation following that movement, he warned. 

The joint convener of NRDC Mr Pal mentioned that the New Maynaguri- Jogighopa rail route needs about 96-kilometre land in Cooch Behar district but about 30-kilometre land is yet to be acquired. He blamed the district administration of Cooch Behar for the slow progress in acquisition of land. In Jalpaiguri district too 6-kilometre land is yet to be acquisitioned. Earlier, the NRDC leadership had lodged a complaint to the state land and land reforms minister Mr Abdur Rezzak Molla over the slow pace in acquiring land for the proposed rail project in Cooch Behar district. After that the minister visited Cooch Behar in July and instructed the concerned officials to complete the land acquisition process during the monsoon so that work can be started soon after the monsoon, the NRDC joint convener said. []