BALANGIR: A delegation from Deogaon on Saturday met the DRM of East Coast Railway in Sambalpur and demanded halt of Express trains at Deogaon. The DRM assured the delegation that Tapaswini Express will have a stoppage at Deogaon while a proposal for stoppage of Puri-Durg and Titlagarh-Howrah Express trains will be sent to the authorities concerned for approval.
The delegation comprised Arkesh Singhdeo, Sushil Chand, Sashi Sahu, Dhanpat Pania, Subal Rana, Basant Agrawal and Gopal Agrawal. Earlier, at least 2,000 people thronged the railway station on Friday to take part in an agitation jointly organised by Deogaon Nagarik Committee and Deogaon Traders’ Union and stopped the Howrah-bound Ispat Express for nearly six hours. Train services were severely hit on Sambalpur-Titilagarh section of Sambalpur railway division of East Coast Railway due to the ‘rail roko’ agitation staged at the Deogaon railway station by the locals.
The protestors demanded stoppage of all Express trains at Deogaon. Several trains remained stranded while some were cancelled and others short-terminated at different stations. Political leaders from various parties of the area, including Leader of Opposition and Balangir MLA Narasingha Mishra, former Rajya Sabha member AU Singhdeo and BJD leader Arkesh Singhdeo, extended their support to the demands of Deogaon residents and joined the protest.
Deogaon Nagarik Committee president Sashi Bhusan Sahu said though Deogaon is an important area, yet no Express trains halt there. “The passengers either have to go to Balangir or Titilagarh to board the Express trains. We had requested the railway authorities to look into our demand. Our demand may be fulfilled “ he said.