Hundreds of passengers were stranded on Saturday (June 3) at the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal in Baiyappanahalli after the Railways cancelled several trains owing to the rail accident in Odisha.
South Western Railways (SWR) on Saturday announced the cancellation of 33 trains, including three trains which were scheduled to commence from Bengaluru.
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According to a press release from SWR on Saturday, cancelled trains from Bengaluru are No 12551 SMVT Bengaluru– Kamakhya, No 12864 SMVT Bengaluru – Howrah, and No 12253 SMVT Bengaluru – Bhagalpur.
Most people stranded in the terminal are migrant labourers who came to the railway station to board the train to the northern and eastern parts of the country. he train accident in Odisha had led to the cancellation of many trains to those parts.
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Prem Kumar from Ranchi, who worked as a welder at a construction site in the city for the last eight months, was scheduled to go to his native place to attend the wedding ceremony of his elder brother. However, the cancellation of trains has made him miss the ceremony. “Since we don’t have any permanent house here, we have been stuck in the railway station for the last 24 hours. Railway officials have promised that they will arrange a train at least by Sunday morning,” Mr Kumar said.
NGO pitches in
The stranded passengers were provided food and water by the local NGOs on Saturday.
Speaking to The Hindu, Tousif Masood, a member of Bahutva Karnataka, a coalition of progressive organisations, said, “We got to know that many stranded due to the cancellation of trains here are labourers who were set to travel to their native places. Since there are not many restaurants here, we arranged food and water for them with the help of various NGOs.”
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“Nearly 1000 people have been stranded here since Friday night. They didn’t even have water to drink. We have arranged 2,000 food packets for them so far,” Mr. Masood added.
CM directs BBMP to arrange food
After media reports on many passengers stranded in Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) Chief Commissioner to provide food to stranded passengers in railway station.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Chief Minister offiice said, “Mr Siddaramaiah has directed the BBMP Chief Commissioner to immediately arrange food to stranded passengers since many are migrant labourers going to northeastern states.”
Help desk set up
Meanwhile, South Western Railways (SWR) has set up a help desk for passengers at various railway stations in the city. An official from SWR said, “Information on passenger’s status on those two trains which met with accidents, the status of delayed trains and other related information can be obtained from the desks set up at the railway terminals and stations.”
SWR said the refund has been given to passengers for the cancelled trains. “As some trains were cancelled, it is estimated around 600 passengers are waiting at Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru. Refunds have been given to the passengers of the cancelled trains. Regarding resuming the trains, we are in touch with South Eastern Railway officials. Upon restoration of the track, we will update further,” Chief Public Relations Officer Aneesh Hegde said.
