Hundreds of passengers, including a large number who were travelling to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha elections, were left stranded in Assam on Friday after six trains were cancelled because of a derailment.
The Northeast Frontier Railway said that the engine of a goods train had gone off the rails between the Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao stations in the state’s Lumding division.
Voting is underway for five seats in Assam – Diphu, Nagaon, Silchar, Karimganj and Darrang-Udalguri. A large number of passengers, however, were unable to go to Karimganj to vote. Most of them were Muslim migrant workers.
While seven trains were terminated before their scheduled destinations, three trains were rescheduled.
A railway official said that buses have been arranged for passengers to go to Karimganj. However, many passengers had already arranged for alternative transport to go back to their hometowns.
One of those who were left stranded was 25-year-old Ahmed Touhid, who was slated to take a train from Hojai to Badarpur in the Karimganj district at 10.25 pm on Thursday.
“I was about to board a Silchar bound train coming from Guwahati at Hojai station but suddenly there were lot of stranded passengers,” Touhid told Scroll. “It reminded me of the chaotic rush during the Covid-19 lockdown. All the trains from Lumding to Badarpur were cancelled citing a derailment issue.”
Another such person was Saleh Ahmed, who was unable to travel from Guwahati to Karimganj to vote. “I find myself stranded in Guwahati, deeply disappointed that I'm unable to participate in the Lok Sabha election,” he said. “This situation underscores the neglect of the Lumding to Badarpur Railway route in terms of development. The urgent necessity for a double line on this route cannot be overstated.”
Ahmed said that a large number of passengers were stranded due to the disruption in train services and were thus prevented from exercising their right to vote.
Sabyasachi De, the chief public relations officer of the Northeastern Frontier Railway, had confirmed that trains had been cancelled, but did not reveal the number of passengers who had bookings on the trains.
Later in the day, De said that the track section was restored for train operations at 1:59 pm and the first train had crossed at 3:56 pm.
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