SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, January 10: The 134-year-old Dhanbad-Chandrapura passenger train in the Dhanbad Rail Division under the East Central Railway (ECR) Zone resumed its journey after a gap of seven years today.
The train movement had been suspended on June 15, 2017, along with 26 pairs of other trains following the closure of the 34 km long Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail section due to the danger of an underground mine fire.
Public pressure
The rail track was opened again on February 25, 2019, under public pressure and 16 pairs of express trains allowed movement. However, one of the oldest trains, the Dhanbad-Chandrapur passenger train, famous as the D-C Train, did not get the green signal.
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Official function at Katrasgarh
After a gap of seven years, today, though the train kick-started from Chandrapura station at the scheduled time of 7.10 am for Dhanbad, a massive official function was held at Katrasgarh railway station where Giridih MP ( AJSU) Chandra Prakash Choudhary and Baghmara MLA (BJP) Dhulu Mahto jointly flagged off the train.
On the occasion, thousands of people from Katras and surrounding areas, who continuously protested for two years from June 15, 2017, to February 25, 2019, welcomed the D-C Train and garlanded it with garlands.
MP, MLA flag off the train
After flagging off the train, Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary said that in the wake of people’s problems, he struggled hard to resume the D-C Train. “ Now, we will try to ensure other trains of Section that have been left out,” he said.
BJP Baghmara MLA Dhulu Mahto, on occasion, welcomed the movement of the D-C train and alleged that the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders never made any effort to start the train that is the lifeline of the people of the region.
“The JMM and the Congress are in power in the state, but in the last four years, they never took cognisance of the plight of people faced due to the suspension of the train,” said Dhulu Mahto.
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