Mumbai : Owing to the ongoing Gujjar protest in Rajasthan, thousands of Mumbai bound travellers faced much inconvenience on Thursday after several trains, including the premium Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani, August Kranti Rajdhani and Paschim Express, had to be diverted and were running 5 to 6 hours late when reports last trickled in.
No less than 1000 protesters were sitting on railway tracks in Rajasthan to demand reservation in the state for Gujjars. According to the electronic media, an emergency meeting was called by the Railways in the Kota division, when the protesters refused to budge from the tracks.
The affected trains were mostly those which depart from Delhi and reach Mumbai after passing through Rajasthan and Gujrat; now, they have been diverted to Madhya Pradesh.
According to an official from railways, the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani, which departs from New Delhi at 4:25 pm, had reached Mathura and was heading towards Kota when the protest erupted at Dumariya. An official from Western Railway said, “When the train crossed Mathura the protest had just begun but slowly it was realised that the train could not be taken ahead. Rajdhani was then taken back to Agra and then diverted to Bhopal.”
Rajdhani, which was expected to reach Mumbai at 8:35 pm on Thursday, is now expected to reach on Friday afternoon. The Western Railway has set up inquiry counters at both at Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus to inform passengers about the delayed trains. Chief PRO of WR, Sharat Chandrayan, said “We will be giving full refund to passengers of those trains which will be delayed over three hours.”
