Pulwama villagers protest lack of drinking water, block rail track

Suhail A Shah

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Anantnag, September 2

The train services in Kashmir were suspended for more than two hours today after residents, protesting lack of water supply, blocked the railway track near Panzgam village in Pulwama district.

Reports said people from Wanduna and other adjoining villages of Pulwama blocked the railway track at Panzgam today and demanded restoration of water supply to their villages.

Protesters alleged that there was no drinking water supply in their villages for the last more than two months.

Chief Railway Controller Vikramjeet Singh confirmed that the Banihal-Baramulla train service was suspended for more than two hours.

“There was some civil issue and people blocked the railway track,” Vikramjeet said. All trains throughout the day ran late by half an hour, he added.

The Chief Railway Controller said whenever there was any such case, they cancelled trains. However, the services were not discontinued today, he added.

Not cancelling the trains means that the services will run till late evening.

“The staff has to work without security and commuters find it tough to get a ride home from the railway stations,” said Vikramjeet.

He added that it had become a norm for local residents to disrupt train services when they were confronted with civil problems, causing inconvenience to commuters and the railway staff.

“People should understand that it’s their own people who have to reach their destinations and avoid disrupting the train services,” said the Chief Railway Controller.