Commuters hard hit due to rail blockade in WB

Kolkata (PTI): Thousands of commuters were put to inconvenience as 26 trains were cancelled and 31 either detained or terminated short of destination during the day in Sealdah and Howrah divisions of West Bengal due to the Bangla bandh.

As the bandh was called by ruling Left Front constituent Forward Bloc within four hours of the police firing on its supporters at Dinhata on Wednesday, passengers in long-distance trains or arriving to the city had to stay either on board or in stations.

Local trains were also obstructed at various stations due to picketing by bandh activists.

Even though a few taxis plied, passengers reaching Howrah or Sealdah stations had a trying time in reaching their destinations. State and private buses ran with a thin fleet during the bandh period.

The trains detained on Eastern Railway system included New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Janata Express, Chambal Express, Amritsar Mail, Darjeeling Mail, Kamrup Express, Doon Express, Varanasi-Howrah Vibhuti Express and Lalqila Express, Eastern Railway sources said.

The South Eastern Railway cancelled Sri Jagannath Express, Coromandel Express, Gitanjali Express and Ahmedabad Express among others, SER sources said.