Kokrajhar, March 2: The 12-hour railway and national highway bandh called by the Hagrama Mohilary faction of the Bodoland Peoples Progressive Front (BPPF) led to severe disruption in the running of trains and vehicles.
The front had demanded the reservation of the Kokrajhar and Udalguri parliamentary seats, Dudhnoi, Boko and Choiduar Legislative Assembly constituencies and 10 out of 14 Legislative Assembly constituencies in the Bodoland Territorial Council for Scheduled Tribes.
NF Railway officials said all long-distance trains have been detained at different railway stations. A spokesman in Kokrajhar said the Down 2433 Rajdhani Express, Down 2505 North East Express and Down 5960 Kamrup Express were rescheduled.
Eranakulam Express and Down Capital Express were detained at New Bongaigaon railway station, the Up Dadar Express was detained at New Alipurduar, the 5959 Kamrup and 4056 Up Brahmaputra Express were detained at New Cooch Behar. The 614 Down BG passenger train was detained at Fakiragram railway station.
Hundreds of activists of the front and the Ex-Bodo Liberation Tigers Welfare Society blocked railway lines and highways at different stations.
Over 2,000 picketers with placards blocked the railway line at Gossaigaon railway station.
In Kokrajhar, K.N. Brahma, president of the district unit of the front, led the blockade.
A similar blockade was also reported at Bijni railway station. The protesters also blocked the highway at Srirampur and Patgaon in Kokrajhar district and Barama in Baksa district.
No untoward incident has been reported so far.
The Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hangrama Mohilary said, “Being under the Sixth Schedule, we should get extra protection and therefore, more reservation not only in case of parliamentary seats but also in case of Assembly seats. The spirit of the creation of BTC under the Sixth Schedule should not be diluted. There will be more such agitations in future unless our demands are fulfilled.”
The party has organised a mass rally on Tuesday at Kokrajhar and Udalguri.
S.K. Bwismuthiary, Bodo MP and associate member of the delimitation commission, said, “Getting two separate parliamentary constituencies exclusively for the people of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts is legitimate and reservation of both the seats is an inalienable right of the Scheduled Tribes of the council area.”
Yesterday, over 100 party supporters, led by Mohilary, staged a dharna in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the Delimitation Commission Justice Kuldip Singh in this regard. The demonstrators include ministers of Assam Pramila Rani Brahma, Chandan Brahma and Rehan Daimary, parliamentary secretary Parmeswar Brahma and S.K. Bwismuthiary and MLAs belonging to the front as well as members of the BTC.
Mohilary also sought the co-operation of Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi.
Different tribal organisations, including the All Bodo Students Union, Tribal Sangha and Tribal Youth League have also sought proper delimitation of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies.
