New Delhi: Migrant workers returning from Mumbai to their hometown in UP via Shramik Special trains were baffled when they found themselves reaching Rourkela in Odisha, and not Gorakhpur.
The train, which began from Maharashtra’s Vasai Road for Gorakhpur lost track overnight and instead reached Rourkela, reported News18.
Passengers, angry and confused, when questioned officials, they were informed by the officials that the train’s driver had lost his way because of some mix-up, the portal said.
Congress leader RPN Singh also shared a video of a passenger of the train narrating his ordeal.
Shramik Special from Mumbai to Gorakhpur, UP lands up in Rourkela, Odisha because the driver lost his way. Any resemblance to current government strategy is purely coincidental. Hope the exhausted passengers get home safely soon pic.twitter.com/Eg0cOqblbt
— RPN Singh (@SinghRPN) May 23, 2020
Some netizens claimed that it was impossible for the driver to make such blunder, while others claimed that there was a possibility that the railways by mistakenly boarded the migrants on a wrong train.
Railways says it was diverted, a ‘temporary move’
Western Railway issued a clarification over the incident, saying that it was a temporary arrangement to address the heavy congestion on one railway route.
Please note that Due to heavy congestion on Itarsi-Jabalpur-DDU route in view of running of large numbers of Shramik Specials, It is decided to temporarily run trains originating from Vasai Rd, Udhna,Surat,Valsad,Ankleshwar of WR on diverted route via Bilaspur-Jharsugda-Raurkela. pic.twitter.com/8FtSGulUf2
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) May 23, 2020
Despite the clarification, the question arises as to why the migrant workers travelling in the train were not informed.
