Amid stir, South Eastern Rly cancels 78 trains

Amidst ongoing protest by the Kurmi community, the South Eastern Railway (SER) has decided to cancel 78 trains for Thursday. Similarly, 72 trains were cancelled by SER on Wednesday due to the agitation at

Kustaur Station in Adra-Chandil section and Khemasuli station in Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of Kharagpur division

The protest started at 5 am on Wednesday. According to a railway official, since none

of the demands placed by the agitators are connected with the railway, they are unable to

predict when the situation will be normalised. According to the update by the official, no train has been stuck enroute, however, passengers who needed medical support and students, amongst many others are facing problems due to the cancellations.

The Kurmi community is demanding Schedule Tribe status and are protesting on the

railway tracks at two stations of the station on the issue. This is not the first time that train services were disrupted in the mentioned section due to the protest. Earlier on September 20 last year, SER had to cancel 26 trains and divert 24 trains due to agitation at Kustaur and Nimdih railway stations of Adra Division, Khemasuli and Bhanjpur railway stations of Kharagpur division and Aunlajori station of Chakradharpur Division. These 78 trains, including Howarh-Pune Azad Hind Express, Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Howrah-Pune Duranto Express and Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Gitanjali Express, amongst others have been cancelled for Thursday due to the stir.