NFR cancels 22 trains due to agitation in Cooch Behar

Guwahati, Feb 23 (IANS) Thousands of passengers were on Tuesday stranded in Guwahati and other railway stations in Assam as 22 trains were cancelled by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) due to the ongoing agitation by the Greater Cooch Behar People's Association (GCPA).

Members of the GCPA have been staging a blockade for the last several days at Cooch Behar demanding statehood or Union Territory status for the region in northern West Bengal.

"The running of trains has been severely affected. A total of 22 trains were cancelled on Tuesday. We have been running some trains by diverting their routes. However, it is not possible to run all of them as there is heavy congestion on the New Jalpaiguri -Siliguri Jn - Alipurduar Jn - New Bongaigaon route," said NFR chief public relations officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma.

Some of the cancelled trains include the Tista Torsha Express from Sealdah on February 24 and 25, the Brahmaputra Mail leaving from Delhi on February 23 and 24, the Uttar Banga Express from Sealdah on February 24 and 25, the Saraighat Express from Howrah on February 24 and from Guwahati on February 24 and 25, the Capital Express from Rajendranagar on February 24 and from Guwahati on February 26, the Kamrup Express from Howrah on February 24 and from Dibrugarh on February 24, 25 and 26.