Punjab and Haryana train-bus disruptions strand thousands

New Delhi : A large number of passengers, including pilgrims returning from the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, were stranded as train and bus services remained suspended on the second day on Saturday. The authorities decided to suspend train and inter-state bus services, as a precautionary measure, following violence in Haryana and Punjab by the supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Among stranded passengers, there were pilgrims returning back after paying obeisance at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra in Reasi district. The main railway station on the outskirts of Jammu city was packed with passengers despite repeated announcements by railway authorities about the cancellation of all scheduled trains from here.

"All trains have been cancelled from here for the second day as a precautionary measure," a railway official said. He, however, said a Jammu-bound train from Delhi has left via Amritsar this morning and is expected to reach here later in the day, if everything goes well.