Hundreds of daily commuters protested in Haldibari and Belakoba railway stations of Jalpaiguri district on February 8, 2021 against the hikes fares and mandatory reservation fiat for the Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri (NJP) passenger train that finally resumed services after the pandemic-induced lockdown.
According to The Telegraph, daily passengers such as office-goers, domestic help and farmers complained about the Northeast Frontier Railway’s (NFR) decision to impose a flat rate of Rs. 35 between any two stations along the NJP-Haldibari route and mandatory booking. Earlier the fare between Haldibari-NJP was Rs. 15 and the fare between Jalpaiguri and NJP was Rs. 10.
People who could not afford the new prices began sloganeering and demonstrating in front of the ticket counter and entrance, just as the train from Haldibari chugged into Jalpaiguri station. Some protesters confined some railway employees and shouted slogans. Later, people at Belakoba followed suit with such agitations.
According to a commuter and government employee Nitai Das, people stood at the ticket counter at Jalpaiguri town station with booking slips but none could board the train. Railway authorities stated that tickets were to be bought at least four hours before the train’s departure because tickets could not be issued after the reservation chart was readied. Many people such as vegetable vendors struggled to fill reservation forms. Incidentally, the train takes an hour to travel from one end of the route to the other.
The NJP train served as the principal mode of transport for hundreds of farmers in the agricultural belt of northern West Bengal, said Jalpaiguri district CPM Secretary Salil Acharya. For the last 10 months, farmers managed by hiring smaller vehicles to take their produce.
Acknowledging this burden on common people, Jalpaiguri District Chamber of Commerce Working President Bikash Das said that the decision should be revoked otherwise commuters would rise in protest. Meanwhile, railway authorities said they could not act unless they received orders from senior officials.
The train which used to run four times a day from both ends daily, runs twice from both ends of the route as a special train. On February 9, railway authorities also withdrew stops from three of the 10 stations that lacked the facility to sell reserved tickets: Kadobari, Kashiabari and Mohitnagar.
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