An SER official said that at least 64 express and passenger trains were cancelled on Friday due to a three-day-long agitation by various Kurmi organisations blocking train tracks in the important Kharagpur-Tatanagar and Adra-Chandil sections of the South Eastern Railway. Long-distance and local passengers have suffered greatly as a result of the rail blockade by various Kurmi organisations, who have been agitating over a number of demands, including recognition as a scheduled tribe, recognition of Sarna religion, and inclusion of Kurmali language in the Constitution’s eighth schedule. More than 225 trains have been cancelled since April 5, when a group of people began a blockade at Kustaur station in the Adra-Chandil section of the Adra division and at Khemasuli station in the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of the Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway.
Organizations claiming to represent the Kurmi people, who live primarily on the Chotanagpur plateau in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal, staged a five-day blockade of railway tracks at these two stations in September 2022 over similar demands. While Kustaur is in Purulia district of West Bengal, Khemasuli is in Paschim Medinipur district of the state. Kurmi organisations are protesting in different districts of the state, including Dakshin Dinajpur, Purulia, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur. Kurmis are presently classified as OBCs. Among the trains cancelled on Friday are 12262 Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Duronto Express, 12860 Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Gitanjali Express, 12021/12022 Howrah-Barbil-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express, 12152 Shalimar-LTT Express and 12833/12834 Ahmedabad-Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, the SER official said.
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