post news network
Keonjhar, April 3: The railway authorities have cancelled some passenger train services here, leaving thousands of people stranded at several places, even as an agitation halting mineral transport through rail and road routes entered the second day Friday in mining areas of this district.
The railway authorities have notified the cancelation of the Keonjhar-Bhubaneswar fast passenger train and Puri-Barbil express train. A passenger train, stranded at Keonjhar, was supposed to leave the station in the morning. Instead, the railway authorities allowed it to run in the afternoon. It is said that the railway authorities did this for security reasons. The agitators, however, termed the cancelation of passenger train services as a ‘blackmailing tactics’ only to put the people in inconvenience.
Meanwhile, mineral transport from various mines was hit for the second day, causing loss of crores of rupees to the government and the railways. Though ADM Sangram Keshari Swain held talks with the agitators and urged them to refrain from blocking mineral transport Thursday, the latter did not relent and went ahead with the strike.
Sources said the railways is worried over the blockade of mineral transport, for which it has to suffer losses to the tune of Rs 6 crore to Rs 8 crore on a daily basis. Peeved over the stalemate, the railways Friday cancelled the passenger services, locals alleged.
On the other hand, the agitators are firm in their stand and decided to continue the strike till April 9, unless their demands are conceded by the government. After April 9, the strike will be intensified into a complete economic blockade across the district.
A dharna by the Joint Action Committee in support of their five-point charter of demands which included among other things a mega steel plant, a medical college and an agriculture university in the area, is about to complete two months.
ADM swain said the agitators did not pay heed to anything during discussions with the administration. The mater has been intimated to the collector.
Talks with railway authorities will be held to find a way out to run trains,
he added.