Bihar: Rail services resume on Kiul-Mokama section as Rail Sangharsh Samiti ends protest

According to District Magistrate of Lakhisarai Sanjay Kumar, a large number of people squatted on the tracks at the station, 120 km from Patna, to press for their demand that a number of express trains that had no stoppage at Barhiya be made to have scheduled halts there for the convenience of local commuters.

Lakhisarai (Bihar): Rail services on the Kiul-Mokama railway section under the Danapur Division of East Central Railway in Bihar's Lakhisarai resumed on Monday afternoon after the Rail Sangharsh Samiti ended its protest at Barhiya railway station in Lakhisarai after authorities agreed to its demand of stoppage of trains at Barhiya station. Sanjay Kumar, DM Lakhisarai, said they have given a letter in writing to the protesting people and it has been agreed that Janseva Express and Patliputra will have a stoppage at the Barhiya station.

Stoppages of other trains will be made in the next two months, Kumar said. “After talks with the agitators by the district administration and the railway management, the Rail Sangharsh Samiti has ended the strike,” he added. On the demand of Rail Sangharsh Samiti, Jansewa Express and Patliputra Express trains will have a stoppage in Barhiya.

The railways have sought two months' time to have stoppages of Patna-Puri Express, Himgiri Express, Akaltakht Express, Humsafar Express, Pune Jasidih Express, Punjab Mail Express, Gurmukhi Express, Gorakhpur-Asansol Express and Rajnagar-Banka Express at Barhiya. At least 10 trains were cancelled and 30 diverted or short terminated as rail traffic was disrupted on the Mokamah-Kiul section of the East Central Railway (ECR) zone due to agitation at the Barhaiya railway station, officials said.

According to District Magistrate of Lakhisarai Sanjay Kumar, a large number of people squatted on the tracks at the station, 120 km from Patna, to press for their demand that a number of express trains that had no stoppage at Barhiya be made to have scheduled halts there for the convenience of local commuters. Attempts by the DM and Railway DSP Imran Parvez to persuade the agitators to call off their agitation yielded no result and as night descended, they began preparing meals on the tracks in a clear indication of their reluctance to back off. According to the ECR headquarters at Hajipur, the trains, which have been cancelled include four express ones, connecting the state with Kolkata, Sealdah and Jasidih.