Siliguri Railway Eviction Row Intensifies as Traders, Residents Demand Rehabilitation

The standoff over eviction notices on railway land in Siliguri has intensified, with several hundred traders and residents marching to Uttarkanya on August 19 demanding rehabilitation before any eviction. The protesters submitted memoranda at the Additional Divisional Railway Manager’s office at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and later at the NJP police station before proceeding towards the state’s North Bengal administrative headquarters. Police stopped the procession around a kilometre from Uttarkanya, while a six-member delegation was allowed to submit the memorandum.

The mobilisation was organised by the Greater Siliguri Citizens’ Committee, formed in response to the railway eviction notices affecting settlements, shops and markets around NJP, Siliguri Junction, Siliguri and Bagdogra stations. Protesters claim that numerous families have inhabited the land for 20 to 50 years and fear that eviction without an alternative arrangement could mean losing both their homes and livelihoods. Earlier this month, the West Bengal Bastu Development Association also held a protest and submitted a deputation against the eviction of slum dwellers and hawkers from unused railway land without rehabilitation.

The dispute has also drawn attention to the scale of the commercial activity potentially affected. Traders’ representatives have claimed that around 22 markets are located on railway land, while the Brihattara Siliguri Kuchra Basyaee Samity has put the number of traders dependent on these markets at around 7,000. These figures are claims made by the traders’ body and have not been independently confirmed in the latest reporting. The protesters have warned of further agitation if an eviction drive is undertaken without rehabilitation, making “no eviction without rehabilitation” the central demand of the movement.

The Siliguri protests come against a wider backdrop of disputes over railway-land evictions in Bengal. In June, the Calcutta High Court granted interim protection against several railway eviction notices affecting hawkers at stations including Ballygunge, Jadavpur, Baruipur, Dankuni, Bongaon and Guma, according to reports.

The Siliguri matter, however, is at a different stage, and there is no verified report yet of a court-ordered stay covering the current Siliguri notices. For residents and traders, the immediate concern remains whether the Railways will proceed with eviction and, if so, whether an alternative rehabilitation arrangement will be offered beforehand.