BENGALURU: Aggrieved by the recent decision of the Bengaluru Railway Division to begin and terminate Ernakulam-bound trains from Banaswadi station instead of Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (Bengaluru City) station from January, several citizens, mainly comprising Keralites, are set to stage a dharna in front of the KSR station on Saturday evening.
The recent Railway Time Table had specified that the KSR Bengaluru- Ernakulam Superfast Express (Train no. 22608) which runs on Mondays will originate from Banaswadi from January 4 while the KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam Bi-weekly (Train no. 12684) which runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays will follow suit from January 8.
The trains in the return direction would also terminate at Banaswadi. Both the trains presently depart from KSR at 6.45 pm. In the return direction, they reach KSR at 4 am. The same timings would be retained from Banaswadi too. Speaking to Express, C Kunjappa, Joint Convenor of the Karnataka Kerala Travellers Forum (KKTF), a federation of 87 Malayalee associations in the city, said that over 500 people are expected to join the peaceful protest.
“We will gather outside the City station from 4.30pm to 5.30pm to highlight our grievances. After that, we plan to present a memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager in his office,” he said. The main grievance was the poor connectivity at Banaswadi compared with City railway station, Kunjappa said. A media statement issued by the General Convenor of KKTF, R Muraleedhar said, “City railway station is the ideal station for the departure and arrival of the above mentioned trains keeping in mind the connectivity issues from different parts of the City.
The station is well connected by BMTC services and Metro connectivity has provided an added advantage to this station.” The trains need to depart from City station or Mysuru station, it said. Kunjappa added, “The train reaches Banaswadi at 4 am when it would be still dark. It is not a bustling place like the Majestic station and it will pose a risk to safety of women passengers. Families will also be greatly inconvenienced.” Autorickshaw drivers here never use their meters, he charged, adding that the main road around the station was not wide enough to accommodate many vehicles.
Other demands of KKTF
Garib Rath to Kerala must be run daily and reach Yesvantpur at 6am
Daily Shatabdi between Bengaluru and Ernakulam that departs from Bengaluru at 6 am and returns to Bengaluru at 10 pm
Daily run of Hubli-Kochuveli train with change in departure time after 6 pmKannur Day Express via
Palakkad, a new train required
Kannur Day Express via Palakkad, required
More sleeper coaches in Yesvantpur-Kannur Express
Reserved Ladies Sleeper Coach in all Kerala-bound trains.