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The blockade of rail tracks on the Delhi-Mumbai route by the agitating Gujjar community of Rajasthan is costing the Railways an estimated ₹26 crore a day due to disruption of services. Till date, about 200 trains have been cancelled and 150 diverted. The agitation, seeking 5 per cent job and education reservation, entered its seventh day on Wednesday.
Container trains run by listed companies such as Container Corporation of India (Concor) and Gateway Distriparks, too, have taken a hit, as this route accounts for the largest share of business for these players.
Business hit “We are losing about ₹25 crore on account of freight and approximately ₹1 crore a day due to passenger traffic. More importantly, these are summer vacations, and peak travel season for people. In this heat, passengers are extremely inconvenienced and such situations are extremely undesirable,” Ajay Shukla, Member Traffic, Railway Board, told BusinessLine .
The Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan has almost become an annual event, with the community resorting to blocking train tracks and highways, leading to large-scale cancellation and diversion of trains.
“There have been such blockades by Gujjars three-four times in the past five years and once, the agitation even continued for 15 days,” said a Northern Railway official.
Container train operators are keeping their fingers crossed after reports of talks resuming between the agitating community and the State government.
“Our export-import traffic movements are badly hit,” Concor’s CMD Anil Gupta told BusinessLine .
“The train running is hit. Some trains are stabled, and some are diverted… It is difficult to assess the damage at this time, as we don’t know how long the agitation will continue,” said Sachin Bhanushali, CEO, Gateway Rail, a subsidiary of Gateway Distriparks.
FIR against protestors Maintaining law and order is a State’s prerogative. Incidentally, Rajasthan is ruled by the BJP Government, which rules the Centre, too.
The State government had filed an FIR against the community leaders two days ago, but that did not impact the agitation.
On Wednesday, the Rajasthan High Court reportedly asked the State Chief Secretary and police chief to take action while expressing its “unhappiness” over the manner the administration had dealt with the agitators.
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