Bharat Bandh: Over 100 trains disrupted as Dalit groups protest over SC/ST Act

Dalit protesters blocked trains, clashed with police and set fire to vehicles in violent protests across the country on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters stop a train during Bharat Bandh call by Dalit organisations in Moradabad on Monday (PTI photo)

New Delhi: Over 100 passenger and mail train services were on Monday affected and two trains, including a Shatabdi, were short-terminated as protesters squatted on the tracks against the Supreme Court order on SC/ST Act.

The protesters blocked rail and road traffic and resorted to violence in Rajasthan, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. The New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express was short-terminated at Ludhiana, while the New Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab Express was short-terminated at Ambala.

"There were some incidents of a gathering of agitators at Firozpur, Hapur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad yard (Gaushala), but there was no damage to railway property. Stray incidents of stone-pelting were reported from one or two places, but no passenger or railway personnel was hurt," Nitin Chowdhury, Spokesperson, Northern Railways said.

Trains that were disrupted due to Bharat Bandh:

Many trains, including the Saptakranti Express, Utkal Express, Gatiman Express, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi Rajdhani and Kanpur Shatabdi, were stopped ahead of Ghaziabad at Meerut and Modinagar, PTI quoted Northern Railway officials as saying.

A mob of about 2,000 people disrupted the train services at the Hapur station as well, they added. In the Agra Division, around 28 trains were delayed, including a Shatabdi and the Gatiman Express.

At the Ferozpur yard, a mob of about 150 people arrived at 8:30 am, resulting in the disruption in the movement of trains. Another mob of around 200 people disrupted the services in the Amritsar-Ludhiana section.

Around 43 trains were affected in the East Central Railways (ECR) because of the protests, which started as early as 5:10 am in the Dhanbad division. In Bihar, the protesters stormed the Patna Junction railway station, forcibly closed down the ticket booking counters and squatted on the tracks.

In the East Coast Railway (ECoR), around four train services were disrupted, with the protesters squatting in the Sambalpur and Khurda Road divisions at 5:15 am.

Across the North Eastern Railway (NER), South Eastern Railway (SER) and Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), around 18 train services were disrupted. The trains resumed their journey after 9:30 am on Monday.

(With PTI inputs)