(Pooja Pal; Intern Journalist): Mumbai: Amid the Corona crisis, migrant workers are left with no other choice than wandering from place to place. In such a situation, migrant laborers are also facing problems while traveling via Indian Railways. The negligence of the railways was revealed when the train departing from Mumbai to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh reached Odisha. When people aboard on the train from Mumbai got ready to go home in the morning, they found themselves in Odisha instead of Gorakhpur.
The special train which left from Vasai Road station of Western Railway in Mumbai for Gorakhpur at 7.20 pm on 21 May, reached Giridih in Jharkhand via Rourkela in Orissa this afternoon. Neither Odisha nor Jharkhand comes via a direct route from Mumbai to Gorakhpur. Vishal Singh, who traveled by this train, alleged that no information was given to the passengers for the train’s route change. The laborers faced the problem of food and water & alleged that one who can procure food (via IRCTC)and water is lucky or else all were craving for a single drop of water.
Citing the reason for the delay in getting the trains to their destination and changing the route, Public Relations Officer of Western Railway Gajanan Mahatpurkar alleged that due to the special trains running on all the routes simultaneously, some trains are going to change routes. West Central Railway sources alleged that Itarsi and its nearby stations have become the busiest route for the movement of trains.
From Delhi to South India, or from Mumbai to North India, trains have to go via Itarsi. On normal days, the movement of trains is according to the time table, while the special trains are running without the time table. Junctions like Itarsi are facing a jam situation due to which some trains have to change routes. Nowadays, not only Maharashtra but also many trains going from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are being sent via Itarsi. Due to this, the burden of the Itarsi route has inflated.
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