From farm Bills to job protests to Agnipath, why Railways are central to protests
Symbolism of rail network, easy accessibility, lack of security make it easy target
The protests across the country against the Centre’s short-term military recruitment scheme Agnipath have a recurring feature: railway properties have been vandalised, torched or attacked from Bihar to West Bengal to Telangana.
In the first week of the protests, coaches of three running trains and one empty rake were damaged, a stationary train was vandalised, a railway station defaced, while mobs set ablaze a railway station in Bihar and at least three trains in Secunderabad in Telangana.
According to the ministry of railways, till Tuesday, the protests impacted 612 trains, with 602 of them being cancelled and 10 partially cancelled. According to sources, a conservative estimate of the damage to trains caused during the protest is at least Rs 25 crore.
This isn’t the first time the Indian Railways found itself the target of such protests. As a 168-year-old organisation that is a subsidised mode of travel for millions of Indians, the Railways carries huge symbolism for demonstrators seeking to make a point. The accessibility and reach of the national carrier means it is also difficult to keep away protesters.
As the fourth largest rail network in the world, the Indian Railways is spread out across 64,000 route kilometres. It ferries nearly 23 million passengers per day on 13,000 passenger trains and has a workforce of nearly 1.3 million.
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