Surat : With the upcoming Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals, migrant passengers at Surat Railway Station are facing a harrowing time as they are forced to enter train coaches from the windows or sit in the toilets to reach their hometowns in north India.
Despite standing in line for 48 hours, many passengers have been unable to get a seat on the train. The situation is so dire that more than 5000 passengers are traveling in a train with a total capacity of 1700.
Passengers have complained that they are being treated like animals and that the railway authorities are doing nothing to help them.
“We have been standing in line for two days and two nights, but we still haven’t been able to get a seat on the train,” said one passenger. “We are being treated like animals. The railway authorities don’t care about us.”
Another passenger said that she had to sit in the toilet of the train because she couldn’t find a seat anywhere else.
“I have a young child with me, and I had to sit in the toilet of the train because I couldn’t find a seat anywhere else,” she said. “It is disgusting and humiliating.”
The railway authorities have blamed the overcrowding on the high demand for tickets during the festive season. They have said that they are doing everything they can to accommodate the passengers.
“We understand that the passengers are facing a lot of difficulties,” said a railway official. “We are doing everything we can to accommodate them. We have added extra trains and coaches, but the demand is just too high.”
However, the passengers are not convinced. They say that the railway authorities are not doing enough to help them.
“The railway authorities are just making excuses,” said one passenger. “They don’t care about us or our problems.”
The plight of the migrant passengers at Surat Railway Station is a reminder of the challenges that they face on a daily basis. During the festive season, these challenges are only compounded.
“The railway authorities need to do more to help the migrant passengers reach their hometowns safely and comfortably. They need to add more trains and coaches, and they need to provide better facilities for the passengers” said Nandu Pandey, a textile worker hailing from Patna in Bihar.
