SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: Despite continuous appeals of passengers, Northern Railways has failed to fulfill aspirations of people in Kashmir as commuters using Banihal-Baramulla Rail service are facing hardships due to less frequency of trains. The train services in was resumed in March 2021 in Valley after remaining suspended for around 11 months due to COVID-19 pandemic. Railway Ministry has once claimed that the resumption of train service would enhance ease of movement and provide a big boost to tourism sector but the ground reality is quite different, as the railway authorities have not resumed full operations.
Earlier in June 2022, officials assured the people that they are trying to increase number of train services and already 50 per cent trains are running while more will be added gradually. Currently, only five trains, which are fully reserved, are operational and daily commuters including tourists are facing a lot of hardships. Railway police personnel and other officials were seen making futile attempts to control the surge of passengers at stations, mainly in Anantnag, Srinagar and other sections. In Srinagar-Baramulla section, trains were relatively less congested while crowd was witnessed at several other places like Budgam, Awantipora and Nowgam.
Meanwhile, commuters have demanded an increase in the frequency of trains to control congestion during peak hours. The issue was recently also raised by women commuters. Considering the needs of the commuters, the railway should gradually increase the services as Valley is witnessing an increase in the COVID-19 cases once again. In morning and evening hours, as trains are crowded with passengers, same can lead to an increase in COVID-19 spread.
“I travel from Srinagar to Anantnag daily during morning and evening hours. Services are not running with full frequency and no new or special train has been inducted yet as well as gap between trains are of about 2-3 hours, which cause more rush, especially during peak hours leading to more risk amid pandemic,” said Sumaira Maqbool from Srinagar. “Crowd leads to violation of social distancing and other safety precautions. Hence, increase in frequency will reduce risk,” said Sara Akhter, another commuter. Meanwhile, the commuters have urged LG Manoj Sinha to take up the matter with Northern Railways for providing relief from to common man.
