Ganjam-bound workers stop Shramik train by pulling chain

The train had not halted at two overcrowded stations near their destination, leading to panic

Pulling the chain to halt the train, around 400 migrant workers got down from a Sharamik Special train near the Chhatrapur Railway Station in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Friday afternoon.

Receiving information on the incident, police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel rushed to the spot to round up the group of returnees, all of them hailing from Ganjam district. Arrangements were made to send them by special buses to institutional quarantine centres in their respective panchayats.

Surat to Balasore

The train was on its way from Gujarat’s Surat to Balasore in Odisha. Migrant workers from Ganjam district were also travelling in the train. According to Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials, as the Jagannathpur and Berhampur Railway Stations in Ganjam were already packed with the arrival of more than 10 trains carrying migrant workers, the Balasore-bound train did not stop at the two stations.

Local authorities said the returnees from Ganjam district were to disembark at Khurda Road station and then transported to Ganjam by special buses. But the passengers panicked when the train did not stop at Jagannathpur or Berhampur. Worried that they would be taken to Balasore district, they pulled the chain to get down near Chhatrapur station.