Local people blocked railway tracks at Darshana Railway Station in Chuadanga on Tuesday afternoon, demanding stoppages of the Dhaka-bound Sundarban Express and the Khulna-bound Chitra Express trains.

Local people stopped the Khulna-bound Sundarban Express at Darshana station around 2 pm, halting train movement that caused immense sufferings to hundreds of passengers.

Protesters complained that while most trains on the Dhaka-Khulna route halt at Darshana during daytime, both Sundarban and Chitra Express skip the station at night, which has created severe hardship for patients, students and working people.

Despite repeated appeals, no permanent solution has been made, they said.

Damurhuda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Tithi Mitra and Darshana Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahid Titumir visited the spot and talked to the protesters.

The blockade was later withdrawn after army personnel assured protesters that steps would be taken within seven days regarding their demand for train stoppages.

Rail communication resumed shortly thereafter.

Tanvir Anik, joint convener of the Chuadanga District Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, “Darshana is a key railway hub, international checkpoint and border region.Thousands of people travel through here daily. The absence of Sundarban and Chitra Express stoppages causes immense suffering. If the issue is not resolved immediately, we will be forced to launch tougher programs, including hunger strikes.”