Train cancelled, locals serve langar to passengers at Barnala’s Tapa rly station

Following the Bharat Bandh call, the railways cancelled an intercity train when it reached the Tapa railway station, 23km from the district headquarters, on Friday

Following the Bharat Bandh call, the railways cancelled an intercity train when it reached the Tapa railway station, 23km from the district headquarters, on Friday. The decision was taken as the farmers had blocked the tracks in Barnala.

Locals serving langar to train passengers at Tapa railway station.

The train en route to Delhi from Fazilka was ferrying around 400 passengers. However, locals served langar for passengers and arranged taxis for those wanting to go via road.

Deepak Pandey (30), a passenger, said that he had to visit his home state Bihar for Holi. “I am working in the telecom sector in Muktsar and had boarded the train for Delhi. Neither I was aware about the Bharat Bandh nor did the railways inform me,” said Pandey.

Sarna Rani, an elderly woman, said that she was going to Madhya Pradesh and caught the train from Muktsar to Kurukshetra but the train was stopped midway. “The government is responsible for this harassment. If the government could have accepted demands of farmers, we would have not faced this situation,” she added.

Vipin Kumar, a social worker, said that they arranged langar of Tea, bread, roti for the passengers. “We also arranged taxis for passengers who wanted to go by road,” he said.

Tapa station master Gurman Singh said that the train was cancelled due to Bharat Bandh. The ticket refund will be transferred in passengers’ accounts.

Meanwhile, there was a complete shutdown in Sangrur and Barnala districts.