Several policemen and passengers were injured following a clash between mob and police both at Ashoknagar railway station and Jessore Road this morning following short termination of the route for the Down Bongaon-Majerhat local train.

Police said that a rail blockade at Ashoknagar station started at 8 am. A group of daily commuters blocked the rail tracks. Due to this, both the Up and Down line trains were stalled. Passengers faced severe hardships during office hours. When police attempted to clear the blockade, protesters clashed with them, resulting in a scuffle that led the police to use batons to bring the situation under control.

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Several policemen were injured as the mob started pelting stones. Train services resumed after about an hour. Meanwhile, there was a massive traffic jam on Jessore Road due to a level crossing gate being closed. Later, angry locals also put up a roadblock. Overall, passengers were distressed, unable to find trains at this busy time. One daily commuter involved in the protest said, “Why won’t the Majherhat local go up to Majherhat station? We have to change at Barasat and board the Duttapukur local. This Majherhat local has been halted for a long time.”

At 8.15 am, when the Up Sealdah-Bongaon local at 7.12 and the Down Bongaon-Sealdah local at 7.53 reached Ashoknagar station, passengers began the blockade.

In a statement, Eastern Railway noted that due to the Dev Deepavali festival, an increase in crowd at Babughat and other river ghats along the Ganges is anticipated. Considering this, changes have been made in the circular railway schedule on the Sealdah route of Eastern Railway. Some local trains will have their routes diverted, and a few circular trains will be canceled. The Deputy Commissioner of Police for Kolkata’s port area requested Eastern Railway to modify or cancel some train routes for the safety of devotees at the Ganga ghats, prompting Eastern Railway to take this decision.

As informed by the ER office, at 8.14 am train services on both up and down lines were disrupted due to an obstruction by local residents at Ashok Nagar station (ASKR) on the Dum Dum Cantt (DDC) – Machalandpur (MSL) section of the Sealdah Division (SDAH). The obstruction impacted the movement of train numbers 30344 Down and 33819 up, with local residents reportedly protesting the short-termination and diversion of circular trains designated for the Deva Deepavali Utsav at Babu Ghat. After efforts of the railway authorities, train number 30344dn Bongaon — Majerhat local departs from Ashokanagar for Tala at 9.33 am.