The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) ferried over 140 passengers of a train from Bangladesh in buses to their destinations on Friday after they were left stranded because of a blockade in Jalpaiguri district.

Sources said Mitali Express which runs between New Jalpaiguri and Dhaka Cantonment was struck at Haldibari station because of the blockade organised by the residents of Kerarpara village to demand the stop of a local train.

Many felt that the “international status” of the train had probably prompted the NFR to rush buses to transport the stranded passengers of Mitali Express to their destinations.

According to police sources, the blockade at Kerarpara, located about 23km from Jalpaiguri town, started at 7.30am. “They are demanding that a passenger train that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Haldibari (located about 30km from Jalpaiguri) halt at Kerarpara,” said a source.

When the blockade started, the railway had to stop the NJP-bound Mitali Express at Haldibari and delay the departure of the Haldibari-Calcutta Superfast Express. Haldibari station is 7km from the site of the blockade.

“Many passengers of Mitali Express were tourists and a few were also coming from the neighbouring country to meet their relatives in India,” said a source.

Around 9am, three buses were arranged to reach Haldibari station.

“By 9.30am, all 146 passengers were ferried to NJP and Siliguri by the buses,” said a source in the railway.

Sabyasachi De, the chief public relations officer of the NFR, said: “We arranged buses to ferry the passengers of Mitali Express to NJP so that they did not have to face inconveniences.”

The sudden interruption in the journey for many passengers of the international train came as a surprise but they appreciated the promptness of the railway authorities.

“I am going to visit Darjeeling for the first time with my family members. The sudden break in the journey came as a surprise but an alternative arrangement was made immediately," Nur Jahan Begum, a resident of Dhaka in Bangladesh, said. She, along with her nine-member family, is visiting Darjeeling.

Samsul Haque, another resident of Dhaka, was on his way to meet his relatives.

“Initially, we were worried about the delay,” Haque said.

As soon as the blockade started, police rushed to the spot.

Local people demanded assurances from the railway that a ticket counter would open and the local train would stop at Kerarpara, which is in Nandanpur-Boalmari panchayat of Jalpaiguri Sadar block.

“The passenger train used to stop at Kerarpara for more than 10 years. But the stop was withdrawn during the Covid-19 pandemic. The stop was a huge help for locals but after the pandemic, the stop hasn't been restored,” Sufal Sarkar, the chief of the panchayat, said.

“We had earlier also demanded the train's stop but the authorities did not take any action,” he added.

De said the local train's stop at Kerarpara had been withdrawn because of less number of passengers. “When the villagers organised a similar protest a few months ago, our officials went there and told them unless they ensured the availability of passengers, it was not possible to order a halt.”