Amidst fears of power crisis shortage of coalIndian Railways has so far canceled around 42 passenger trains to ensure faster delivery from coal producing regions of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Even though the Railways has said it is an ‘interim measure’ and the cancellations have mostly happened in non-priority areas and less busy routes, many passengers have been left in the lurch ahead of the upcoming summer holiday season.
Of the trains canceled to facilitate movement of coal-carrying goods trains, 34 are from the coal-rich South East Central Railway (SECR) and eight from the Northern Railway where several power plants are located.
The cancellation of such a large number of trains has led to protests. The Chhattisgarh state Congress is threatening to block the movement of coal from local mines, among other things, which could add to the woes of the stressed power sector.
Sushil Anand Shukla, president of the state’s Congress media cell, said, “… it is not possible for just seven trains to cover routes or carry passengers. So we will continue to protest and to resume normal operations.” I will do whatever has to be done. The poor are the worst affected by such decisions.”
Asked whether Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who left for Delhi on Friday evening, will meet the Union Railway Minister to discuss a more amicable solution to the issue, Mr Shukla said it is unlikely as Mr. Was going to attend an event in particular.
According to official data, after the cancellation, the Railways has increased the average daily loading of coal rakes to over 400 per day, which is the highest in the last five years. Railway officials said the national transporter hauled 533 rakes daily for coal duty, with 427 rakes being loaded on Thursday, taking the total to 1.62 million tonnes.
About 753 journeys involving 363 mail/express trains and 390 passenger trains have been canceled in SCER and NR railway zones, officials said.
A travel operator in Chhattisgarh, who chose to remain anonymous, told Hindu That due to the Covid-induced disruption in the last two years, a lot of demand was created during the summer holidays and several weddings are also scheduled in April and May. Fewer trains means that travel plans will either get canceled or people will be forced to change multiple trains or use other modes of travel.
Similarly, Johnny Krishnani, who runs a mobile shop in the state capital, said his family members were supposed to leave for Jalandhar on April 27, but the situation forced him to abandon the journey. As it turned out, the Chhattisgarh Express in which he had reserved his seats was cancelled, but later resumed along with some other trains.
“So finally the train went on its scheduled time on May 27, but by then we had cancelled. Can’t miss any,” said Mr. Krishnani, who went to Raipur railway station to cancel another ticket on Friday evening. But were.
Apart from long-distance commuters, many daily commuters who commute to big cities for work or in search of work will also be affected by the suspended services.
As per the data shared by the Ministry of Power, coal production by CIL has increased by 27.2% in April 2022 as compared to the same period last year and coal dispatch has increased by 5.8%. Coal stock in CIL is 56.7 MT and in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is 4.3 MT and in captive coal block is about 2.3 MT. “Thus, sufficient coal stock is available with the coal companies,” the ministry said.