Jajpur: Local residents demanded Monday the restoration of passenger train service in Jajpur, which was suspended in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. As Covid-19 situation has already normalised in the state, essential train service needs to be restored immediately, they said.
“Passenger trains are mostly used by the poor and middle class commuters as an economical means of transportation. However, the service has not been restored yet causing trouble,” many residents of this town alleged.
“The daily coronavirus caseload in Odisha has gone below the 50 per day mark. Covid-19 restrictions imposed earlier have been relaxed, tourist destinations, marketplaces, offices, educational institutions and religious places in Jajpur have also been opened. Campaigning for the ULB polls are at full swing. Only the passenger train services have remained suspended,” the locals added.
Most of the express trains passing through Jajpur railway station are being run as ‘specials’, excluding the passenger trains. Similarly, the Talcher-Puri MEMU (passenger train), which has been halted since March 2020, awaits nod of the railway authorities to resume operations again.
Earlier commuters in Jajpur were able to go to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in passenger trains by paying just Rs 10. For going to Puri they had to shell out Rs 20 only.
A large number of people travel to Cuttack in passenger trains from Jajpur district every day to reach Orissa High Court, Office of Odisha Police DG, SCB Medical College and Hospital, National Law University, Ravenshaw University and many more places of importance. Several Jajpur locals also travel to the Capital city to reach Lok Seva Bhawan (secretariat), Utkal University and other places.
Local residents who are demanding restoration of normal passenger train services include include Purnachandra Das, Ashutosh Kar from Jajpur-Keonjhar Road locality and Ramchandra Pratap, Nirmal Sahu and Bijaya Kumar Khandayi from Haridaspur, all members of a local outfit ‘Rail Yatri Sangh’.
Some of the temporarily cancelled major passenger trains that pass Jajpur en route to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar include: Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar MEMU, Bhadrak-Cuttack MEMU, Paradip-Cuttack MEMU, Cuttack-Ichhapuram MEMU, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur MEMU, Khurda Road-Kharagpur Fast Passenger and Santragachi-Puri Passenger.
A total of four passenger trains were previously running between Paradip and Cuttack every day, prior to Covid-19 outbreak and only one train runs now.
Allegedly, a few MEMU trains that are running these days charge more than the usual rates price than before. The Railways are charging people more on the pretext of providing ‘special’ services. As a result the high rates are pinching a huge hole in the commuters’ pockets.