Malda bandh called off midway

MALDA, Dec. 26: Today’s Intuc-sponsored 12-hour Malda bandh was withdrawn around 9 a.m. after the railway authorities announced that the Janasatabdi Express will continue to run between Malda and Howrah “until further order”. The railway authorities, it may be recalled, had recently announced that the Janasatabdi Express would be withdrawn from today, prompting the Intuc leaders to call for a 12-hour Malda bandh.As the Intuc supporters blocked the railway tracks here early this morning to protest against the proposed withdrawal of the train, Mr Dilip Chouhan, a senior railway official of Malda, met the agitators and informed them about the railway board’s latest decision of holding the withdrawal order. Soon after Mr Chouhan’s announcement, the bandh was called off.Early in the morning today, hundreds of people, backed by the Intuc leaders, blocked the railway track at Rathbari. Even the Janasatabdi Express, which was scheduled to leave Malda junction for Howrah for the last time today, was halted by the agitators. The agitation disrupted railway services in the region and several trains were stranded at different stations, prompting the officials concerned to roll back the decision of withdrawing the services of the Janasatabdi Express.n SNS