Activists from the Kurmi community on Wednesday intensified the demand for inclusion in Schedule Tribe (ST) category by squatting on the railway tracks thus forcing South Eastern Railway ( SER) to cancel around 64 trains. The activists have announced indefinite strike.
The agitators squatted on the tracks since early morning demanding Schedule Tribe status and inclusion of Kurmi in Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The protestors also put up a blockade on the National Highways resulting in inconvenience for commuters.
The movement of trains was partially affected due to agitation by a group of actvists at Kustaur Station in Adra - Chandil section of Adra Division and Khemasuli station in Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of Kharagpur Division from 05.00 hrs. As a result of the agitation, the train services of SER have been regulated.
The following trains were cancelled 08641 Adra-Barkakana MEMU Passenger Special, 08649 Adra-Purulia MEMU Special, 03595 Bokaro Steel City-Asansol MEMU Special, 03598 Asansol- Ranchi MEMU Special, 08650 Purulia-Adra MEMU Special, 18085 Kharagpur-Ranchi MEMU Express, 18116 Chakradharpur-Gomoh Express, 03592 Asansol-Bokaro Steel City MEMU Special, 13301 Dhanbad-Tatanagar Express, 18183 Tatanagar-Danapur Express, 03594 Asansol-Purulia MEMU Special, 18036 Hatia-Kharagpur Express, 18035 Kharagpur-Hatia Express, 03593 Purulia-Asansol MEMU Special, 18184 Danapur-Tatanagar Express, 08054 Tatanagar-Kharagpur MEMU Special, 08055 Kharagpur-Tatanagar MEMU Special, 08060 Tatanagar-Kharagpur MEMU Special, 12814 Tatanagar-Howrah Steel Express, 12813 Howrah-Tatanagar Steel Express, 12376 Jasidih-Tambaram Express
18011 Howrah-Adra-Chakradharpur Express was short terminated at Adra (Chakradharpur portion) , 12883 Santragachi-Purulia Express at Adra. 22862 Kantabanji-Titlagarh-Howrah Express was Short Terminated at Tatanagar and Short Originated as Passenger Special from Tatanagar.
Apart from this, some Mail/Express Trains are running on diverted routes. Passengers were seen protesting at several railway stations. The anger of the passengers was quelled when the full amount of their ticket was refunded.
On the other hand, the people of Kurmi community have made it clear that just as the Kurmi community had ST status at the time of undivided Bihar, similarly they should be given ST status in Jharkhand. Along with this, there is a demand from the Bengal and Odisha governments to include the Kurmi community in the ST.
Sources said senior railway officials were camping at the site of the agitations and are coordinating with the state government.
SER officials said never before had such agitation extended for so long. The ‘rail roko’ agitation resulted in a loss to the tune of several crores to the railways.
Meanwhile, passengers traveling to other places are facing harrowing times. Due to cancellation of trains they have no choice left to left in lurch. Due to this, the rush in other trains has increased so much that the authorities have issued a no-room for trains.
Located on the Howrah-Mumbai main route Tatanagar is an important station. Several important trains travel via Tatanagar, including the high-profile Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express. The station sees a daily traffic of 90 mail, express and passenger trains, besides a footfall of more than 60,000 passengers.