Agnipath stir: 316 trains hit, 200 cancelled

Minister urges protesters not to damage rail property

New Delhi, June 17: Over 300 trains have been affected and more than 200 cancelled so far due to protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the defence services, the railways said on Friday.

It said that 94 mail and express trains and 140 passenger trains have been cancelled due to the protests, while 65 mail and express and 30 passenger trains were partially cancelled.

The railways has also diverted 11 mail and express trains. The total number of trains affected so far stands at 340, officials said.

According to the last statement by the zonal railways, 164 trains were cancelled in the East Central Railways (ECR), 34 in North Eastern Railways (NER), 13 in Northern Railways (NR) and around three in Northeast Frontier Railways.

Coaches of seven trains have so far been set ablaze by protestors, officials said, adding coaches of three running trains in the ECR and one empty rake in Kulharia, in the same zone, were damaged by protestors.

One coach of a train was also damaged in the washing line at Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia. So far, 64 trains were short terminated in ECR. There were no protests on tracks since 5

pm, they said.

The Southern Railways, in a statement, said all trains moving from its jurisdiction towards Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh will be short-terminated due to widespread agitations and arson there over the Agnipath scheme.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urged youths not to destroy railway assets. “I appeal to the youth to not indulge in violent protests and not damage the property of the railways.”

The worst-hit East Central Railways — covering

Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh which have witnessed widespread protests — has decided to “monitor” the operations of some trains due to the agitations.

The officials said they are keeping an eye on train movement and will decide on their operation as the situation evolves.

Several trains run by the Northeast Frontier Railways pass through ECR jurisdiction and three of them have been hit by the widespread protests, the railways said.