After BJP’s win, Amethi expects train to Guj
LUCKNOW: The Congress bastion of Amethi is expecting a direct train to Gujarat as a return gift from the BJP after having voted for the party in the urban local bodies’ elections.
Around 10,000 migrant labourers from Amethi work in Gujarat. They usually have to go to the neighbouring Sultanpur or Allahabad to catch a train to Ahmedabad.
Hence, their demand for a direct train from Amethi-Rae Bareli to Gujarat’s premier city.
For now, these people have some relief as the VaranasiAhmedabad Express, which normally takes the Sultanpur route, has been diverted via Amethi for a month due to ongoing repair work on the Varanasi-Sultanpur section.
Little wonder, commuters rush toward coaches of the Varanasi-Ahmedabad Express as it stops at the Amethi railway station.
There is a scramble for seats.
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BJP leaders have promised a superfast train from AhmedabadVaranasi via Amethi will start soon. Job seekers will face no problem in travelling to Gujarat
BHANU PRASAD, grain merchant
And passengers of reserved berths object to the entry of unauthorised travellers in the sleeper coach.
Trying to pacify the agitated passengers, the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) says: “Locals will try to board the train since it has been diverted from the Sultanpur route due to repair work. Please try to accommodate them.” The locals are allowed to share the reserved seats as the train leaves the platform after a few minutes’ stoppage.
Shiv Kumar Maurya, a local trader, tells HT: “This train does not pass through Amethi normally. But due to repair work on the Varanasi- Sultanpur section, it has been diverted via Amethi.”
“We thought that after the BJP’s victory in the urban local bodies election, the central government re-routed the train via Amethi as a gift to the people,” says Chandra Bhusan Singh, a student.
Bhanu Prasad, a grain merchant, says the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have promised a superfast train from AhmedabadVaranasi via Amethi will start soon.
“The youths and labourers who visit Gujarat in search of jobs will face no problem in travelling to these places. The scope of employment in Amethi is limited. A large number of locals have migrated to Gujarat in search of a job. While some are working in factories, several others have launched their own ventures,” he says.
The BJP leaders highlighted the issue in the urban local bodies’ election in which the Congress failed to open its account here.
The Bharatiya Janata Party bagged Amethi Nagar Panchayat seat and Jais Nagar Palika Parishad seat. The Samajwadi Party captured Gauriganj Nagar Palika Parishad seat. An independent candidate won the Musafir Khana Nagar Panchayat seat.
Buoyed by its victory in the Congress fort, the Bharatiya Janata Party dispatched the newly elected Jais Nagar Palika Parishad chief Mahesh Pratap as well as Amethi Nagar Panchayat chairman Chandrama to Gujarat to campaign for the party in the assembly election there.
They have been sent to Gujarat as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plan to counter Rahul Gandhi’s attack by telling voters that the Congress lost miserably on his home turf Amethi. Mahesh Pratap says a large number of people from the area settled in Gujarat and played a pivotal role in the BJP’s victory.