85,000 passengers transported in 3 days
Scores of people left stranded on the roads outside the railway station with no transport available for their onward journey
NEW DELHI: With the operation the Shramik Special trains for migrant workers wishing to return home and the partial resumption of passenger train services, the Northern Railways has transported over 85,000 people to and from Delhi in the last three days alone. A total of 31 trains (both Shramik and passenger trains) either departed or arrived in the Capital on Friday.
Among these, nine Rajdhani superfast trains arrived in Delhi and 12 of these departed. In addition, 12 Shramik Special trains left the Capital carrying thousands of migrant workers from various stations under the jurisdiction of the Delhi (DLI) division.
Meanwhile scores of people
left stranded on the roads outside the railway station with no transport available for their onward journey. There was no bus, cab or any other transport option available for passengers to arrive at stations or reach their homes from the station.
Many passengers carrying heavy luggage stood clueless outside the railway station, while some tried to convince
local cab drivers to take them home in various states. “We can give you Rs 6,000 maximum if you take us to Roorkee (a distance of about 200 km),” a man said to a driver who reached the station to pick up a family which had already booked his taxi.
Another man was seen asking a rickshaw-puller to take to take him to Anand Vihar. A few women were seen asking policemen to help them get water for their children. A youth, who boarded a train from Sabarmati along with his wife and three-year-old boy, said he gave Rs 1,800 to a tempo driver to reach the Ahmedabad station.
“My brother-in-law booked the ticket for us for Rs 1,750. “We must go to Ravi Nagar in West Delhi, but the family doesn’t have a vehicle at home,” he said.
One of the passengers who had gone to his village in Bihar’s West Champaran district, said he had no clue about the non-availability of public transport in Delhi.
“Why have they started running trains when there is no bus or metro available? We had no clue that there will be no public transport whatsoever in Delhi,” he said.
A Singh, who reached Delhi on the first train from Ahmedabad, said the Delhi government should have at least run a few buses for passengers travelling on special trains.
“A private taxi seems highly unlikely and even if you get one, they have been charging exorbitantly,” he added. “An advisory could have been issued informing people that no transport will be available from Delhi,” said another passenger, as he put his heavy bag down on the road to rest.