The Hindu : New Delhi News : Chaos at Delhi station

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Sunday, Jun 03, 2007
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New Delhi

Chaos at Delhi station

Devesh K. Pandey

Passengers hit hard by the quota agitation

Photo: PTI

HARROWING TIME: Passengers stranded at Sarai Rohilla railway station in New Delhi on Saturday due to the quota agitation in Rajasthan and in some other States.

NEW DELHI: On a day when several trains were delayed or cancelled due to violent protests by the Gujjar community, frequent announcements of ``inconvenience is regretted'' being made at New Delhi railway station throughout the day came as little consolation for passengers who had to board trains for various destinations and for those who had to wait for hours for their near and dear ones to arrive.

"I came here at 7 a.m. thinking the train in which my family is coming from my native place Darbhanga would arrive on time. Since then I have made numerous visits to railway officials but have not been given a to-the-point reply. Earlier they said it would come at 3-30 p.m., now I have been told that it would arrive at 4-30 p.m.," said Vinay, a resident of Gurgaon.

Chaos prevailed in the Station Superintendent's office with people volleying one query after the other enquiring about the timing of the trains. While some wanted to know if their train had been rescheduled or cancelled, others complained that there was confusion over the time of departure. "This is not our job. But considering the situation we are trying our level best to provide them with satisfactory replies," said a railway official.

Ganesh, a resident of Andhra Pradesh, had a harrowing time as his train to Amritsar was delayed by hours.

"I came here today and was supposed to leave in the morning, but they are saying that the train is delayed. I have no place to stay here, so I am planning to leave by some other train. The railway officials have put a seal on the ticket allowing me to board any other train to Amritsar on condition of availability of seat," he said.

The station also had a number of passengers who earlier had a difficult time in Rajasthan. Ahsan, who was supposed to board the Jodhpur-Howrah Express at Jaipur in the early hours of Friday, narrated his tale of woes: "As I reached Jaipur station, we were told that the train had been diverted and it would go via New Delhi. I somehow reached Delhi undertaking several small journeys. But now ., the railway officials say they are not sure about its timings or route plan.''

While confusion remained the order of the day for passengers of the East-bound trains, those travelling by the Delhi-Ahmedabad Rajdhani were also not sure about its status. Several of them complained that no one knew when the train would leave -- if at all.

Some passengers alleged that the telephone enquiry system at the station was also not functioning properly.

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