Sit-in to get a new rail route
COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 17: Proponents of New Maynaguri-Jogighopa railway organised a three-hour sit-in at New Cooch Behar railway station today. They also demonstrated highlighting their demands when trains passed through the station, but they restrained themselves from blockading any train.
The New Railway Demand Committee (NRDC) organised the agitation at New Cooch Behar rail station premises from 10 a.m. today. A few thousand people from different parts of Cooch Behar and Assam gathered there to make the agitation programme successful. Mentionworthy, the NRDC is struggling since 1995 for a new rail route from New Maynaguri of Jalpaiguri district to Jogighopa in Assam.
The joint conveners of NRDC Mr Chandi Pal and Md Tazmul Haque, ex-deputy speaker of Assam Assembly Md Giyasuddin Ahmed, Mr Raghu Nandan Byapari, Cooch Behar MP (Rajya Sabha) Mr Tarini Roy, Mr Dipak Sarkar (MLA), Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad sabhadhipati Mr Jnanendra Chandra Chanda, CPI-M leader Mrs Jaba Pal, Mr Dhaneswar Roy and Mr Tushar Guha Thakurta spoke on the occasion.
The joint convener of NRDC and also the convener of Cooch Behar district Left Front Mr Chandi Pal said that they would submit a memorandum to the Union railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad at New Delhi on 22 August. They will make complaints to the minister against the concerned railway officials for delay in implementing the New Maynaguri–Jogighopa railway project.
The NRDC delegation will start for New Delhi on 20 August. They will request the Union railway minister to complete the New Maynaguri-Jogighopa project within the time frame as declared by the railway authority following their massive movement. There will be no alternative other than organising a fresh movement if the minister fails to response positively, Mr Pal warned The Centre should be held responsible for any deterioration of law and order situation following that movement, he added. []
PHOTO : NRDC joint convenor Mr Chandi Pal and other leaders from Cooch Behar and Assam at the sit-in at New Cooch Behar railway station platform on Thursday.
Telecom Revolution Mela
COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 17: First time in the country BSNL-Cooch Behar has organised Telecom Revolution Mela. The mela is going on at the office premises of the telecom district manager to provide innovative way of single window customers’ care service to the customers of the BSNL.
Mr MK Seth, TDM, Cooch Behar inaugurated the Telecom Revolution Mela yesterday. The mela will continue till 19 August.
Demonstration of variety of services offered by the BSNL-Cooch Behar, variety of Landline phones, Mobile phones, Internet, DIAS, value added services, workshop on CCB PCO, WLL PCO and Mobile PCO and details of the call rates available in CCB PCOs are being intimated by the officials of BSNL at the mela.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Seth has informed that BSNL has offered free of cost CCB PCOs to the customers of Cooch Behar. It has no additional charge of electricity as power is supplied from the concerned telephone exchange. Customers will have to spend about Rs 300 for the CCB PCOs against private operators’ CCB PCOs Rs 500. In rural areas it is Rs 100 only. Speech quality of the Landline CCB PCO is very good and there is no congestion at all, Mr Seth claimed. The TDM announced that the BSNL is ready to provide CCB PCOs to all nursing homes, hospitals, schools, colleges and offices free of cost with refundable security money of Rs 1,000 only.
Free medical camp and computer training camp were also organised at the mela premises today. Training was given on networking especially on NetOne to about 130 students. []
