Historical Place Of Hili Railway Station

History

From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, to Siliguri was in two laps. The first lap was a 185 km journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River, then across the river in a ferry and the second lap of the journey. A 336 km metre gauge line of the North Bengal Railway linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.

The Kolkata-Siliguri main line was converted to broad gauge in stages. The Shakole-Santahar section was converted in 1910-1914, whenHardinge Bridge was under construction. The Hardinge Bridge was opened in 1915 and the Santahar-Parbatipur section was converted in 1924.The journey to Kolkata from Hili was only eight hours prior to 1947.

During partition of India, the India-Pakistan border ran through Hili town, with around three fourths of the town in East Pakistan, later Bangladesh. Hili railway station located in Bangladeshi territory is a stone’s throw away from Indian territory.

Trade and smuggling

Here is a description of the activities at Hili Railway Station in more recent years: "One platform I can remember especially where the train usually never stops, called Hili. Hili is a border between Bangladesh and India and huge quantity of goods import and export from there in legal way. But there are also illegal way what I saw on the way."

Much trade between Bangladesh and India goes on via the Hili border. Smuggling is rampant at the Hili border. Smuggled goods comprise sugar, onion, saris, medicines and even contraband drugs. Bangladesh border guards hold up trains to help the smugglers.

External links

• Hili Rail Station, Hakimpur, Dinajpur- 1991
• Smuggling at the border near Hili Railway Station, 2014

References

1. Jump up^ "India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri". IRFCA. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
2. Jump up^ "Brief History". Bangladesh Railway. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
3. Jump up^ "Chapter:Background". Retrieved 2011-12-16.
4. Jump up^ "Border cloud on revelry - BDR bar on puja pandals". The Telegraph, 15 September 2004. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
5. Jump up^ "Traveling Experiences". ReadMyPost. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
6. Jump up^ "Bangladesh - Getting there and around". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
7. Jump up^ "Smuggling goes on unabated at Hili station". Financial Express, 11 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-16.