Goa: 'Only Railway Board can cancel halt at Margao station'

Margao: Notwithstanding the announcement made by chief minister Pramod Sawant about his request to the Centre not to allow Rajdhani trains to have Margao as a destination station, highly placed sources in the Konkan Railway said that as bookings for the Rajdhani trains are open until May 25, they will run as per the original schedule.

Two Rajdhani trains — one from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, and the other from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram — stopped at the Margao railway station on Wednesday to allow passengers to embark and disembark. Forty-four passengers alighted and 109 boarded the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi express at Margao, while 16 alighted and 22 boarded the Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram express.

“The railway ministry is yet to issue any notification with regards to cancellation of Margao as a stop or destination for the Rajdhani trains. The booking is open for special trains until May 25, and they are likely to run as per schedule. We have the last Rajdhani to arrive at Margao on May 24,” a senior official told TOI.

“It’s for the Railway Board to take a decision about the request for cancellation of Margao station. Bookings for trains beyond May 25 haven’t been opened yet.”

Sources said that while Sawant had requested the Centre for cancellation of Delhi-Margao Rajdhani trains, he was of the view that the state could manage those alighting from Delh-Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi trains as the arrivals are relatively few.

All 60 who alighted from both the trains were ferried to the new district hospital, Margao, for their Covid -19 tests.

Every day migrants renew hope of journey home

Times News Network

Margao: Of the over 7,000 migrants who converged at the Margao railway station through the day on Wednesday to board the two trains to Uttar Pradesh, over a half of them who “missed” boarding the trains after they got packed to capacity had to spend one more night in the open — on roadsides, besides railway tracks, in the fields, and on any available space to lie down — before the break of the next dawn that would renew their hopes of a homebound journey.

Many of them have been queuing up at the railway station for the last few days in the hope of getting to board a train home, and then spending nights under the starry sky after failing to pass the scrutiny by the railway and administrative officials at the gates of the Konkan Railway station at Margao.

The first train that left Margao around 2.30pm accommodated residents of districts around Kanpur, while the second train that left around 7pm, was boarded by residents of districts around Lucknow. While 1,464 passengers boarded the first train, the second carried 1,520 passengers.

Sources said that a large number of migrants, who were left out, were later accommodated in the shelter home at the Manohar Parrikar indoor stadium, Navelim, where arrangements were made for their meals as well.