The Eastern Railway on Tuesday (July 23) informed that the Maitree Express, which links Kolkata with Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, will remain suspended until Wednesday (July 24).
This decision follows communication from Bangladesh amid ongoing violent protests over the government job quota system, resulting in more than 100 fatalities.
Trains to Bangladesh suspended
According to the statement issued by the Eastern Railway, as per “message received from Bangladesh”, the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express will remain suspended until Wednesday.
The service has been halted since Saturday; normally operating six days a week, it does not run on Sundays. Furthermore, the bi-weekly Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express was also canceled on Sunday.
Curfew in Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina defended her decision to impose a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order following clashes between police and protesters in Bangladesh. She emphasised that these stringent measures were implemented to safeguard lives and properties.
Hasina’s remarks followed the Supreme Court of Bangladesh’s decision to invalidate most government job quotas, a significant demand of the protesters. The demonstrations have led to one of the deadliest waves of violence the country has seen in recent years.