Sundargarh: The services of several trains were affected on Monday due to “rail roko” staged by the locals at Bisra railway station in Odisha’s Sundargarh district to press their demand for halt of passenger and Express trains.
According to sources, around 500 local people, led by former Biramitrapur MLA George Tirkey and convener of Bisra Public Action Committee (BPAC) Pradeep Routray sat on a dharna on the train tracks at the station in the morning in support of their demand.
They said the Passenger and Express trains, which had stoppage at Bisra station, had stopped halting due to restrictions during COVID pandemic. Though almost a year has passed since the pandemic abated, the restriction continues to be in force and the trains are not halting at Bisra, they alleged.
Though some Railway officials tried to persuade the agitators to withdraw after assuring them of looking into their demand, they did not heed the request. The locals said they would continue the “rail roko” till the Railway authorities give them written assurance.
Due to the agitation, several goods trains were stranded on the Howrah-Mumbai main line. Besides, Kalinga Utkal Express was halted at Manoharpur, Geetanjali Express at Rajgangpur, Ahmedabad-Howrah Superfast Express at Rourkela and Steel Express at Sambalpur for several hours.
It may be noted that Samaleswari Express, Kalinga Utkal Express, Steel Express and Bokaro-Alleppey Express used to have stoppage at Bisra before the pandemic.
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