A jam-packed Eden Gardens in Calcutta witnessed an “offbeat” banner during the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

Unlike most other banners which were related to cricket, this banner, which was carried to the cricket stadium by some KKR fans who live around 670km away from the state capital, mentioned the longstanding demand for a road overbridge (ROB) at Birpara in Alipurduar district.

Dipankar Sarkar, Pawan Shah, Khemraj Biswakarma, Naren Shah and Subham Lama displayed the banner in the sports arena to draw the attention of appropriate authorities.

The youths hail from Birpara which is close to the India-Bhutan border.

“An ROB is immediately required at the railway level crossing in Birpara. Every day, thousands of residents face inconvenience as gates at the level crossing close regularly. There were instances of patients dying because ambulances were stuck at the crossing. That is why we carried the banner to the Eden Gardens,” said Dipankar.

In Birpara, one of the principal reasons for severe traffic congestion is the railway crossing.

The Dalgaon station at Birpara is one of the important stations along the Dooars railway route that connects Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction.

“We took up the demand for the ROB with various quarters but no initiative has been taken by the central and the state governments. We, the local residents, on the other hand, continue to bear the brunt of traffic congestion. This has to be changed,” Subham, another youth who had been to Calcutta to watch the IPL match, said.

Birpara is represented in the Assembly by the BJP’s Manoj Tigga, who is also
the party’s Alipurduars candidate in the Lok
Sabha polls.

Political leaders have spoken on the issue even during the ongoing Parliament polls — election in Alipurduars was held on April 19 — and assured the residents that initiatives would be taken in consultation with the railways to build the ROB.

BJP leaders, while speaking on the demand, claimed that the Centre had sanctioned ₹5 crore for the project. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, said there was no official document which confirmed the approval of the funds.

“John Barla, who had won the 2019 election from Alipurduars and is also a junior minister, did nothing to pursue the project. Manoj Tigga, the local MLA, was equally silent,” said Prakash Chik Baraik, the Alipurduar district Trinamul president who is contesting as the party’s candidate from the Alipurduars Lok Sabha seat.

Tigga, however, passed the buck to the Trinamool government.

“The Trinamool government of Bengal is not ready to provide the land required for the construction of the ROB. That is why the project couldn’t start,” he said.