Agnipath protest: 60 coaches, 10 engines damaged in Bihar in three days of protest

Image Source : PTI
Jammu Tawi Guwahati Express train set on fire by a mob in protest against the Centre's Agnipath scheme in Hajipur on Friday, June 17 2022.

Highlights

Other railway properties like signaling system and operational equipment were also damaged
Protestors kept targeting railway properties in Bihar and West Bengal on Saturday
On Saturday, Railways cancelled 369 trains due to the agitation

Agnipath Protest: More than 60 coaches and 10 engines were damaged by fire during the sit-in protests over the last three days. Apart from this, railway properties like signaling system, operational equipment and passenger amenities were also damaged in many stations. Railways is presently assessing and evaluating the estimate of the damage.

The railway administration has now decided that it would start operation of trains only after reviewing and ensuring safety, security and law and order situation.

Protestors continued to target railway properties in Bihar and West Bengal on Saturday to vent their ire against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, disrupting train services in the eastern region for the fourth day in a row, while demonstrations were held on roads in Odisha and Jharkhand.

In Bihar, where a strike was called Saturday in support of the agitation, bandh supporters set fire to Taregana railway station in Masaurhi sub-division of Patna district. The railways' East Central zone, headquartered in Bihar's Hajipur, said that in view of the prevailing situation, 32 trains have been cancelled in the state.

"To ensure safety and security of passengers and railway property, trains originating in other zones will ply through ECR only after 8 pm on Saturday and continue till 4 am on Sunday. Movement of such trains will be restored at 8 PM on Sunday," said ECR Chief Public Relations Officer Virendra Kumar.

Several trains across country cancelled

The Railways cancelled 369 trains on Saturday due to the agitation against the Centre's recently announced Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces, officials said. These include 210 mail/express and 159 local passenger trains.