The passengers using the Basta railway station would embark on rail picketing on Monday from 8 am alleging step-motherly attitude of the Railways. They will be staging their protest under the banner of ‘Rail Users’ Association, Basta’, said Shyam Prasad Behera, a local leader.
They are dissatisfied with the decision of the authorities not to allow stoppage of two major trains, the Utkal Express and East Coast Express at Basta.
He said after resumption of passenger train services in the post Covid period, two trains, the Utkal Express and East Coast Express which had stoppages in Basta station earlier were not stopping in the station. As a result, the commuters depending on these trains were suffering a lot, he alleged.
“The residents of not only Basta block, but also of Rasgobindapur and Moroda blocks of Mayurbhanj district apart from residents of Baliapal and a part of Bhograi block extensively depend on these trains to go to Delhi and Kolkata.
Yet when trains have resumed their services as special trains in the post Covid period, surprisingly they don’t have halts here,” said Behera.