Kolkata: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has commented on the incident of BSF jawans getting dilapidated train and said that four railway employees have been suspended in this regard. Also, he said that the tattered coaches of the train have been changed.
In a shocking incident, around 1200 BSF jawans deployed for security for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra refused to board a train from Udaipur to Jammu on June 10 after they found that the condition of the coaches “were extremely poor”.
The condition of the train was so horrible that the BSF personnel refused to travel in it, and a video of the incident became viral on social media. Notably, the Amarnath Yatra will take place from July 3 to August 9, and the train sent for the personnel deployed for the Yatra’s security sparked an outrage and debate on social media platforms.
In the video, one can see lack of upper berths, broken windows in the dilapidated train. Following the incident, the BSF lodged a strong protest with the Railways. After that, the Railways sent a replacement train that was in a better condition.
K K Sharma, the Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Public Relations Officer said the dilapidated coaches were attached for maintenance purposes and were not meant for the use of passengers. Also, he added that some CAPF personnel had boarded those coaches by mistake, which resulted in confusion and misunderstanding before they were detached from the train at Agartala.
While speaking with ThePrint, Sharma said those coaches were marked clearly as non-passenger and were supposed to be transported for servicing. Moreover, he said the concerns that the CAPF personnel raised have been addressed, and the train has resumed its journey to the intended destination.
Every year, the Amarnath Yatra takes place under tight security and it will be amplified manifold this year due to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 when terrorists killed 26 tourists. On May 23, the Union Home Ministry sanctioned the Jammu and Kashmir government 425 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), a maximum of which is from the BSF (130), followed by 128 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
