'Mumbai is a part of our motherland'

A large number of Biharis are unafraid to go to Mumbai despite the violence unleashed on north Indians by Maharashtra Navanirman Sena.

"Scared ? Absolutely not," says Irshad, a resident of Patna waiting to board the Kurla Express to Mumbai.

"After living in Mumbai for several years there is no need for me to get scared of the place. After all, Mumbai is a part of our motherland," he told PTI.

It is a double whammy for Sunil Kumar Singh of Supaul, which was ravaged by the Kosi river floods.

Trying to start life all over again after the deluge, he is stranded at Patna railway station waiting for the train to go to the western metropolis, where his octogenarian father is to be operated on Friday.

"I will not be there in time for the operation, but I will definitely be there to take his care during recovery," he says.

However, with Bihar burning following the MNS attacks on Hindi speaking Railway job aspirants, hundreds of people returning from Mumbai are facing a harrowing time.

Pandav Sharma, immobilised with a broken spine, is stranded at the Patna railway station for the last two days as the train that will take him to Khagaria is cancelled and his condition does not permit him to travel by road.

Hundreds of passengers were seen whiling away time at the station waiting for the train that would take them to their destinations.

Meanwhile, following the ongoing agitation against the attack on north Indian examinees by MNS activists in Bihar, several trains under Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) have been rescheduled and cancelled for second consecutive day on Thursday.

"As a precautionay measure, all the trains originating from Patna junction were cancelled on Thursday morning but with the situation showing signs of improvement the timings of cancelled trains have been rescheduled," said R K Singh, Public Relation Officer of Danapur Division.

Singh said the two important Delhi-bound trains -- 2309 Patna-Delhi Rajdhani Express and 2393 Sampurna Kranti Express -- have been cancelled.

Among the rescheduled trains are -- 2142 UP Rajendranagar-Kurla Express will depart at 1350 hours, 195 UP Patna-Ajmer Jiayarat Express at 1630 hours, Patna-Delhi 2387 UP Jansadhran Express (1620 hours), Rajendranagar-Delhi 2391 UP Shramjivi Express (1800 hours), 2401 UP Magadh Express (1820 hours), 2296 UP Sanghmitra Express (1955 hours), 7092 UP Patna-Secunderabad Express (1630 hours), 2150 UP Patna-Pune Express (2300 hours) and 0515 A Patna-Delhi Puja Special (1400 hours), PRO said. 

A Kolkata report said the Eastern Railway cancelled some of its trains from the Howrah and Sealdah terminals.

ER sources said the 2023-Up Howrah-Patna Janshatabdi Express, 0235-Up Howrah-Hardwar Puja Special, 3021-Up Howrah-Raxaul Mithila Express, 3105-Up Sealdah-Ballia Express and the 3185-Up Sealdah-Jaynagar Gangasagar Express have been cancelled.

The 2367-Up Bhagalpur-New Delhi Vikramshila Express and the Bhagalpur-Muzaffarpur Jansewa Express have also been cancelled, they said. The 2315-Up Sealdah-Udaipur Ananya Express will be diverted via Pradhankhanta.