Ranchi: The New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express, which remained stranded at Daltonganj Station for several hours on Thursday due to Tana Bhagats’ ongoing agitation at Tori Junction, reached Ranchi early Friday with a single woman passenger.
Due to agitation of Tana Bhagats around 930 passengers on board the Rajdhani Express were ferried by bus from Daltonganj Station to Ranchi. But a woman passenger Ananya, (Law student) refused to opt alternative mode of transportation arranged by the district administration to rush her to Ranchi. Even she refused to get down from the train, the railway and administrative officials tried a lot but failed to convince her.
Ananya is presently doing Law (LLB) at Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Ananya told the official that she has paid for travelling by train so I will not get down from the train till my destination rushed. Finally, the train was diverted via Gomoh and Bokaro, covering a distance of 535 kilometers, (around 225 kilometers further than its usual route).
“I was forced to travel by bus or taxi, but because I had already paid for the journey by train, I was not prepared for it. Finally, when I was informing Indian Railways via Twitter, they sent me to Ranchi by train,” informed Ananya.
Railway authorities said the district administration had arranged buses because of the ongoing agitation of Tana Bhagats’ at Tori junction.
Because it is Indian Railways’ duty for each passenger on board to arrive at their destination on time, bus arrangements were made to ferry them to Ranchi. But for some reasons the girl was reluctant to board a district administration arranged bus or taxi, said Avnish Senior Divisional Commercial Manager.
Finally, the train departed from Daltonganj on the diverted route in the evening and reached Ranchi on Friday at 1:45 a.m., late by more than 15 hours, he added.
At Tori Junction, more than 250 male and female Tana Bhagats are agitating puja performances, singing bhajans and cooking food on the railway tracks, affecting the movement of many goods trains as well as the New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express.
