The rippling effects of the widespread agitation that has been raging in the country since the past few days, came as a horror to several citizens.
(Representational Photo)
The agony of passengers continued as several trains were cancelled by the railways even today amid protests against the central government’s Agnipath scheme.
The rippling effects of the widespread agitation that has been raging in the country since the past few days, came as a horror to several citizens who were either supposed to avail an urgent journey or were scheduled to travel during this time.
Rafiq Ahmed, a resident of Howrah, could not attend the last rites of his father, who died last Saturday. Rafiq left the state in 2019 in search of livelihood and works as a labourer in Gujarat. After a long discontinuation due to COVID, his work had resumed about seven months back. However, when his father died due to illness last week, he put his best efforts to attend the funeral, but was unsuccessful as he could not avail a train journey on time. Even though he managed to reach home, somehow, by availing break journeys, Rafiq laments being unable to perform the last rites of his father.
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Like Rafiq, several passengers at Howrah, Sealdah and other stations are left in lurch due to the ongoing protests on the Agnipath scheme. The agitation and its rippling effects left hundreds of passengers in a lurch. The Eastern Railway announced cancellation of at least 19 trains due to operational constraints. According to the officials of the zonal railway, as several trains are still stranded at various places, the rakes are unavailable and hence have been cancelled. The railways officials are hoping the situation to improve in a or two, if no fresh agitation is reported.
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