Assam: Thousands of voters stranded after six trains cancelled

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

The Northeast Frontier Railway said that the trains were cancelled because the engine of a goods train derailed between the Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao stations in the state’s Lumding division.

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

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

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 the trains from Lumding to Badarpur were cancelled citing a derailment issue.”

A huge number of voters, mostly Muslim, were going to Karimganj to cast their vote.

By evening, six trains are...

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