Birpara villagers protest against Indian Railways in Kamrup district

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKO: Villagers protested against the Indian Railways at Birpara village near Bamunigaon Railway Station (some 53 kilometres west from Guwahati city) in Kamrup district on Thursday. The Railway Road under Bridges (RUB) tunnel has been filled up with water since a long time due to which people are facing problems. About 100 villagers of the area raised slogans against Indian Railways for this.

Bipul Das from Birpara village said that most of the time they cannot pass through the RUB due to water logging in the area. The water level in the RUB is now around 5 to 6 feet so vehicular movement has stopped. In case of medical emergency, even an ambulance cannot reach the area.

A Boko Police team also reached there after 15 minutes of the protest. Boko PS Officer in-charge Jogendra Barman warned villagers not stage protest during lockdown period. He said that if people were facing any problems they should give a petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup district.

Chaygaon Revenue Circle Officer Dr. Pritilekha Deka said that she got information about the protest and urged to the railway department to take necessary action as soon as possible.

The PRO of NFR, Suhanan Chanda said that there were total 53 RUBs between Kamakhaya Railway Station in Kamrup to Jogighopa Railway station in Goalpara. Regarding the issue, he said that the Railway engineering department was trying to solve the problem. They were using pumps to clear the water from RUBs but the RUBs which were situated near paddy fields had also been filled up with water and nothing could be done about that. Sahjahan Ali from 2 no. Jambari village said that while trying to cross the RUB, his Maruti Ertiga vehicle almost submerged in the RUB on Thursday afternoon. Later, local youths rescued the vehicle.