Need more trains, say passengers

In Howrah-Kharagpur section of the South Eastern Railway, trains were relatively less congested. Crowds were witnessed at several places, including Sonarpur, Baruipur, Mallickpur, Sodepur, Barrackpore, Serampore and Naihati.

“Basically, the concept of allowing only 50 per cent of total capacity is to maintain social distancing. Now it is up to people also to do so, and to wear face masks. We have reached a situation where if everyone wears masks and maintain social distancing, we can curb the spread of Covid-19. We have asked the DRM to access the ground reality and if required the frequency to the trains will be increased,” said Eastern Railways CPRO Eklavya Chakraborty. As train services resumed a lot of hawkers were seen worshipping the train before they boarded it after months. Hawkers at Sheoraphuli station worshiped by cracking coconuts in front of the train.

“Train is my source of livelihood. I have been selling daily use products in local trains for years. The Covid pandemic spoilt everything… But now it seems life is slowly returning to normal. I can never tell people how much I and my family have suffered due to this,” said Babu Ram a resident of Babangachi in Howrah.

Throwing caution to the wind, passengers were seen shoving each other as they boarded or disembarked the crammed compartments throughout the day.

From Burdwan to Bangaon, from Khagraghat to Kharagpur, everywhere the situation was similar.

Meanwhile, a few passengers also blocked the railway tracks demanding train halt at Islampara Halt Station on Bandel-Katwa. At 6:20 am, the Down Katwa Local was stuck for a while. Later, a team of Bandel GRP went to the police station and brought the situation under control.

The Eastern Railway in Howrah division ran 488 trains and 191 trains of South Eastern Railway started plying on Monday.

Several train passengers also complained of “dirty seats and unclean compartments”.

“Running a local train with 50 per cent passengers is practically impossible. We appreciate the government’s initiatives to run the trains but definitely I am also little worried about the Covid situation. I wish each passenger could understand the importance of masks,” said Shiv Shankar Thakur, a clearing agent and a resident of Hooghly.

People were also seen pushing each other at Diamond Harbor, Laxmikantpur, Baruipur and Canning, south of Sealdah, and even at Budge Budge Local. It is alleged that the passengers did not follow the rules despite the surveillance and appeal by railway police.

Subhash Das, a train passenger from Baruipur, said, “The train is supposed to go with half the passengers. But who will stop whom! After so many days the train services have resumed. Everyone is in a hurry to get to work.”

The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in West Bengal allowed local trains to resume operations at 50 per cent seating capacity from October 31.