Congress leaders cling to railway

MALDA, Feb 15: The English Bazaar Congress leaders have requested the Malda MP Mr AH Khan Choudhury to urge the railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav not to axe Malda railway subdivision's jurisdiction and its activity. The leaders have also planned to tell the union information and broadcasting and PCC chief minister Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi to look into the matter. The leaders think the railway board has planned to set up another division office in Bhagalpur in Bihar, axing the jurisdiction of the Malda divisional office. The English Bazaar Municipality chairman and local Congress leader Mr. Narendranath Tiwari said: "Though there is no official notification to axe jurisdiction of Malda railway divisional office, we have apprehended the process to shift the division has been started. The railway authorities also planned to cut short its areas and function for setting up another division in Bhagalpur." “We have all prepared to launch a protest agitation when the notification will be published,” Mr Tiwari said. “To pay respect to our leader ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, former railway minister, who set up Malda railway division here, we will try to resist the attempt to cripple the Malda railway division,” he said. The Malda MP Mr AH Khan Choudhury, brother of former railway minister and Malda MP, would talk to the railway minister shortly, the local Congress leaders said. The leaders alleged it was planned earlier that the Malda railway station would be a model one but there is no such remarkable development till date for better services to the passengers. At present there are no basic amenities for the passengers for long distance train, when it runs too late, at Malda town station. n SNS