The Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express that was flagged off from the West Bengal capital on Monday 14 April got detained for few minutes in Nadia district. This happened due to some people who sat on its tracks demanding rehabilitation of Bangladesh refugees. The train was detained near Aranghata in the Ranaghat- Gede section between 8.35 am to 8.48 am.

 

The security officers of the train got down but did not have to use force as the squatters themselves lifted the blockade and the train resumed its journey. While ER sources earlier said that the squatters belonged to the 'Amra Bangalee' group, the police say they were activists of the Nikhil Banga Nagarik Sangha. A number of people have been reportedly arrested for blocking the train’s route. 

 

This train service was made to resume between India and Bangladesh after a long span of 43 years. A host of Indian ministers like External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi along with Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Liquat Ali Chowdhury were present at the Kolkata railway terminal in north Kolkata for the flagging-off ceremony.  

 

Maitree Express is a bi-weekly passenger train with six coaches that will commute to and from Dhaka in Bangladesh to Kolkata in West Bengal (India). Maitree Express will depart from Kolkata on Saturdays and Sundays at 7.10 am reaching Dhaka at 10.30 pm. From Dhaka, it will leave at 8.30 am and will reach Kolkata at 9 pm. While the Indian rake can accommodate about 368 passengers, the Bangladeshi can take 418 passengers.