Assam: Hundreds of voters stranded after six trains cancelled

Hundreds of passengers, including a large number who were travelling to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha election, were left stranded in Assam on Friday after six trains were cancelled because of a derailment.

The Northeast Frontier Railway said that the engine of a goods train had gone off the rails between the Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao stations in the state’s Lumding division.

Voting is underway for five seats in Assam – Diphu, Nagaon, Silchar, Karimganj and Darrang-Udalguri. A large number of passengers, however, were unable to go to Karimganj to vote. Most of them were Muslim migrant workers.

Seven trains were terminated before their scheduled destinations, while three trains were rescheduled.

A railway official said that buses have been arranged for passengers to go to Karimganj. However, many passengers had already arranged for alternative transport to go back to their hometowns.

One of those who were left stranded was 25-year-old Ahmed Touhid, who was slated to take a train from Hojai to Badarpur in the Karimganj district at 10.25 pm on Thursday.

“I was about to board a Silchar bound train coming from Guwahati at Hojai station but suddenly there were lot of stranded passengers," Touhid told Scroll. “It reminded me of the chaotic rush during the Covid-19 lockdown. All...

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