North Bengal traders seek freight sops

June 17, 2009: Just before the railway budget presentation by Mamata Banerjee, the Siliguri Merchants Association has come out with a charter of demands.

Though long-standing and backed by a large number of traders of the region, these demands will not be easy to accept for the ministry.

According to Siliguri Merchants Association president O.P. Agarwal, one of the main reasons for North Bengal remaining underdeveloped is the lack of desired attention by the Railway Ministry. "If accepted, our demands can change the overall scenario," he said.

"All North East states enjoy 6 percent rebate in freight but that is not so with North Bengal, though this area also suffers from the same problems like the North East states. We demand the same benefits for North Bengal too," said Agarwal.

Interestingly, freight for Sikkim - though it gets unloaded at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) railway station, the largest freight handling point in North Bengal near Siliguri - gets the benefit. However, freight meant for other North Bengal districts being handled by this point cannot enjoy this.

NF Railway commercial department officials said North Bengal's inbound freight load is around 200 goods trains per month. It generates a freight of around Rs 160 crore. So, a rebate of 6 percent means reduction of NF Railway's freight income by nearly Rs 10 crore.

The next important demand was the shifting of NF Railway's headquarters from Maligaon in Assam to New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. "This is a long-standing demand we hope Ms Banerjee would definitely consider," said Agarwal.

However, a large section of his colleagues think the move may start a major political debate between Assam and West Bengal and jeopardise Banerjee's political career.

Source: The Economic Times