Seventeen trains originating from different stations of Eastern Railway were canceled on Saturday due to continuation Movement for Agneepath Recruitment Plan. While 15 trains scheduled for Saturday were cancelled, two trains – Raxaul Summer Special and Kolkata-Jhanshi 1st Swatantra Sangram Express – scheduled for Sunday have also been cancelled.
Raxaul Mithila Express was among the trains canceled on Saturday; Gaya Express; Kathgodam Bagh Express starting from Howrah station; Malda Town-Delhi Farakka Express will start from Malda and Sealdah; And Ballia Express will start from Sealdah station. The routes of some trains have also been changed. A press statement by Eastern Railway said that the Sealdah-Saharsa Hatebazar Express will be short terminated at Malda Town and the Saharsa-Sealdah Hatbazar Express will be shortened from Malda Town station.
it is second day in a row Due to which the train service has been severely disrupted. Eastern Railway stated that the cancellations and short terminations were due to “students’ agitations going on under the jurisdiction of East Central Railway”. Hundreds of passengers arriving at various stations including Howrah were seen waiting on the platform. Some passengers tried to take the buses to their destination.
While there was no violence in Kolkata on Saturday. Protests took place in Kolkata and its suburbs. Supporters of the All India Democratic Students’ Union, the student wing of the Socialist Unity Center of India (Communist), staged a protest against the Agneepath scheme at Hazra Square in the city, just a hundred meters from the Chief Minister’s residence. The protesters were picked up by the police. A group of youths also tried to disrupt railway services by protesting on the tracks near Barrackpore railway station.
Rail service on the Sealdah-Barrackpore route in North 24 Parganas district was disrupted for about an hour as the protests were called off on police intervention. A large police contingent was deployed in front of the state headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).