Rail-roko disrupts train movement in Dhenkanal

Dhenkanal: Movement of several trains were disrupted for long hours following a rail roko agitation at Denkhanal.

Demanding a halt of newly introduced Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, several outfits had staged the demonstration on Saturday.

Hundreds of activists including members of bar association detained the Rajdhani Express for nearly an hour at the railway station leading to disruption in the rail traffic in the region.

“With the support of various organisations including senior citizen forums, we detained Rajdhani Express for an hour and have decided to stop all the goods trains till 1 pm,” said Dhenkanal Bar Association President, Sibasai Mohapatra.

Mohapatra further stated that when the new Rajdhani via Sambalpur started operation, it did not had a stoppage at Dhenkanal which has led to sharp resentment among residents here.

Local residents alleged that as the city is a district headquarter so Rajdhani Express should ideally have a halt.

"If the East Coast Railway authorities do not look into the matter, we will intensify the protest in coming days," he added.

Meanwhile, the ECoR authorities were unavailable for any comment on the matter.