COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 24: Union railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav assured the members of New Railway Demand Committee (NRDC) that train services will be introduced between New Cooch Behar and Dhubri (Assam) along the proposed New Maynaguri –Jogighopa rail route within 2007 as was declared by the railway authorities earlier. 

A delegation of the NRDC led by its joint convenor Mr Chandi Pal and comprising members from West Bengal and Assam met the Union railway minister at New Delhi on yesterday evening. There were some MPs and MLAs too from West Bengal and Assam. They submitted a memorandum to the minister. The NRDC leaders asked the minister to introduce train services between New Cooch Behar and Dhubri within 2007. They told him that the railway authorities promised it sometime ago. They also complained that the work in implementing the project is going on a slow pace. 

Hearing the demands the Union minister asked the chairman of the Railway Board to take steps to complete the work of the railway project within the declared time frame. A member of the NRDC delegation, state forest minister Mr Ananta Roy told The Statesman over telephone from New Delhi that the Union minister assured them that trains will start plying in the New Cooch Behar -Dhubri (Assam) section within 2007. 

Joint convenor of NRDC Mr Chandi Pal said over phone from New Delhi 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 was suspected that the promise may not be kept and so they had to take up the issue with the Union railway minister in the greater interest of the people of the region, he said. They made it clear to the minister that they are not ready to allow anyone to make the project a suspended one, Mr Pal said. He hoped that after the assurance from the Union railway minister one might expect that trains will run between New Cooch Behar and Dhubri in 2007. Mentionworthy, the NRDC is struggling since 1995 for a new rail route from New Maynaguri of Jalpaiguri district to Jogighopa in Assam. 

Railway standing committee chairman Mr Basudeb Acharya (MP), state forest minister Mr Ananta Roy, Mr Tarini Roy (MP), Ms Minati Sen (MP), Mr Tamser Ali (MLA), joint convenors of NRDC Mr Chandi Pal and Mr Tazmul Haque (Assam), Mr Akhil Pramanik and Mr Rajendra Kumar Baid were among the members of the delegation that met the Union railway minister on yesterday evening. [] 

Thalassemia camps in Dinhata and Cooch Behar 

COOCH BEHAR, Aug. 24: Serum Thalassemia Prevention Federation (STPF) will organise two thalassemia detection and awareness camps at Cooch Behar and Dinhata on Sunday. The camps will be held at Maharaja Shri Jitendra Narayan Club in Cooch Behar and Nripendra Narayan Smriti Sadan in Dinhata. The organisers claimed that this is the first time that such camps are going to be held in Cooch Behar district. 

The convener of the Thalassemia Camp in Cooch Behar Dr Binayak Roy said that thalassemia is a dreaded disease that destroys a family if it attacks any child of that family. Many are carriers of this disease but they are not thalassemia patients. A carrier of this disease should not marry another carrier to prevent the society from this killer disease. And so, blood examination should be mandatory before a marriage takes place, Dr Roy said. 

In Dinhata the Thalassemia detection and awareness camp will be held in association with Dinhata unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA). Executive organiser of the camp Dr Bidyut Kamal Saha made an appeal to all guardians to send children, teenagers and eligible bachelors to the thalassaemia detection and awareness camp on Sunday to avail the opportunity to get their blood examined. Dr Saha said that thalassemia is a deadly genetic disease and the STPF is working to eradicate this disease from the society. 

Mentionworthy, state fire and emergency minister Mr Pratim Chatterjee is the president of the STPF, and chairman of Serum Group Mr Sanjib Acharya is the secretary. []