Migrants suffer as trains are re-routed

MUMBAI: The woes of thousands of migrants returning to their home States seemed to multiply as the Indian Railways abruptly changed the routes of several special trains which left Maharashtra and Gujarat in the past couple of days, according to sources here on Saturday.

At least 13 trains which left the two neighbouring States for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the past couple of days have now been yanked off their planned routes and re-routed for their destinations, shocking the travelling passengers.

These include special trains which have left or are scheduled to depart from Konkan Railway, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Thane, Vasai Road, Panvel, Kalyan, Pune, Nashik, Manmad, Akola, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna, Bhusawal, Jalgaon (Maharashtra), besides Gujarat's Surat, Udhna, Valsad and Ankleshwar.

The new route is via Bilaspur-Jharsuguda-Rourkela for the final destinations in UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, etc, said the sources.

Confirming the developments, Western Railway chief spokesperson Ravindar Bhakar said that the original planned route was via Itarsi-Manikpur-Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn.

"There is heavy traffic in this sector and since the past couple of days it is highly congested. Trains are getting delayed by many hours. Hence an alternative route has been designed for quicker movement of the special trains," Bhakar told IANS.

IR officials informed that the various railway zones have been instructed to take note of the route diversification and arrange for the crew and guard immediately.

Besides the congestion on the Itarsi route, there were safety concerns in view of the cyclonic storm which hit Odisha-West Bengal creating inclement weather conditions in the region.

However, the railways' honourable intentions have ended up creating bigger problems for the passengers raring to reach their homes after getting stuck in Maharashtra for two months during the ongoing lockdown. (IANS) 

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