Locals on Sunday observed a one hour blockade on Hili rail track in Dinajpur to press home their demands including launching stopover of all intercity and local trains in Hili Rail Station immediately.
They also formed a human chain on the rail track in favour of their demands.
The demands included modernisation of the rail station and launching unloading of products from Indian cargo trains in the station.
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Hundreds of locals including freedom fighters and education institutions’ students under the banners of local Muktijoddha Sangsad and Nagorik Committee observed the blockade from 10:30am to 11:30am, snapping train movement between Dhaka and Dinajpur.
The locals also held a rally on the trail track for meeting their demands.
Chaired by local Muktijoddha Sangsad’s former President and incumbent Member Secretary of Hilli-Hakimpur Nagorik Committee Liakat Ali, freedom fighters Shamsul Alam Mandal, Tofazzel Hossain and the committee’s Joint Convenor Journalist Jahidul Islam among others spoke at the rally.
The speakers said though the government earns over Tk 500 crore of revenue from the Hili Land Port, the station has been ignored since long.
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The locals including businesspeople and students have been deprived of train facility as most of the trains don’t make stopover there.
Only Barendra and Titumir intercity trains and local Rocket trains make stopover in the station, they said.
They said they have been demanding to initiate the stopover to the government but they didn’t pay heed to their appeals.
The locals threatened that they will go for a tougher movement once the demands are not met soon and they will continue the movement.
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Later, the locals left the rail track after Railway police assured them of meeting their demands soon after discussing with the higher authorities.