SAMBALPUR: With the agrarian festival Nuakhai around the corner and people returning to their native land for the celebrations, demand for running special trains during the period has grown louder. Nuakhai is scheduled to be celebrated on September 1 this year after a Covid lull of two years.
A group of citizens and members of a city-based organisation, Jagaran, submitted a memorandum in this regard to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw through Divisional Railway Manage, Sambalpur Pradeep Kumar recently. The members have also sent a mail to the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan apprising him of the demand.
President of Jagaran, Sudhir Bohidar said, “We have apprised the problem to the Railway Minister and demanded special trains on at least two routes including Bhubaneswar-Sambalpur-Titlagarh and Bhubaneswar-Sambalpur-Rourkela routes between July 28 and September 5 to manage the rush of passengers during the festival. We are hopeful of a positive response.”
The memorandum highlighted the importance of the festival for the people of Western Odisha. The festival serves as an annual family get-together with the homecoming of people who work outside. However, the number of trains between Bhubaneswar and the Western region of Odisha is not enough to accommodate the rush. Every year, people face inconvenience in reaching home to celebrate Nuakhai, the memorandum added.