BENGALURU: Under-16 Kabaddi players from the state, participating in the Sub-Junior National Championship in Jamshedpur, missed their train due to confusion over the boarding station and had to wait for a long time at the Yesvantpur railway station before taking another train that was packed with passengers.
As they did not get seats, the group of 12 boys and 12 girls had to stand in the passage, and some near the toilet, for a few hours. They were scheduled to board the Anga Express. Instead of waiting for it at the Sir MV terminal, they were directed to the Yesvantpur station because of miscommunication between the Karnataka Kabaddi Association and team managers.
Team manager Sanjeev Masalji and coach Anand Basvaraj assumed that the train would depart from the Yesvantpur station. Masalji said, “During the booking or afterwards, we never knew that the train would leave from the Sir MV terminal. For years, Anga Express has been departing from Yesvantpur station.”
The association too did not give them the right information.
“Later, we booked another train, Prasanthi Express, which was packed. For a long time, the students could not get seats and had to remain to stand, waiting near the toilet. Only after a few passengers alighted, some adjustments were made and they were provided seats,” the manager said. The incident has left the children exhausted, Masalji said.
Several announcements made: Rlys
The manager said this might hamper their performance at the championship. C Narendra, PRO, SWR, said that several trains from the Yesvantpur Station and the KSR Station were shifted to the Sir MV terminal this year to reduce the burden on these stations. Several announcements have been made on the changes over the last few months, Narendra added.