Lalmonirhat-Burimari Route
Lone train has only three coaches for hundreds
Passenger jostle to board a compartment while others climb on rooftop of Lalmonirhat-Burimari shuttle train at Lalmonirhat station on Monday.The train has only three coaches for a few hundred local commuters.Photo: STAR
Passengers of Lalmonirhat-Burimari route stopped a train in Kaliganj upazila on Monday and the day before, demanding more coaches. They stopped the train at Kakina station for an hour on Monday and at Bhotmari for about two hours the previous night to realise the demand. A huge number of passengers of the route have been traveling on the roof of train compartments everyday, risking their lives due to shortage of coaches, railway sources said. Despite repeated pleas, the authorities turned a blind eye to the matter, said the agitating passengers. A Burimari-bound passenger Jamal Uddin, 42, said “I climbed on the roof of the train as there was not enough space in the compartments." Lalmonirhat-bound passenger Aftab Uddin, 40, said the train pressed into service on the route has only three coaches for hundreds of passengers. “Being a regular passenger of the route, most of the times I get onto the roof of the train as all the compartments remain jam-packed”, he added. “The journey is really a hassle for women as they cannot travel on train roof”, said another passenger, Farhana Begum, 35. Four pairs of train regularly shuttle on the route with only three coaches which are too inadequate for a large number of passengers, said Lalmonirhat railway stationmaster Dewan Mohammad Nizam Uddin. "At least six coaches in each train are needed to accommodate all the passengers”, he added. “We informed the higher authorities about the matter but to no effect as yet”, he added. Admitting the shortage of coaches, Sazzad Hossain, assistant traffic superintendent (west zone) of Lalmonirhat railway division, said “No additional coaches are available at the railway's warehouse at the moment”. He, however, could not say any immediate step to resolve the problem. The agitators on the other hand threatened to go for a tougher programme if their demand was not met within a reasonable time.
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