Five lakh Biharis in Surat and one bi-weekly train

Migrant workers say during Diwali rush, they’ve no place to even sit in train; demand one more train from Lalu Prasad .

Surat, August 9: UNION Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav may have favoured his home state Bihar by introducing new trains, but he has done little to woo the five lakh Biharis settled in Surat. The reason: There are no trains running between Bihar and Surat except the Bhagalpur-Surat Express which runs only twice a week.
‘‘The major problem faced by the Biharis here is the lack of transportation between Surat and Patna,’’ said K K Sharma, President of the Bihar Vikas Parishad. ‘‘We were excited that being the Railway Minister Laloo would do something for us. But it seems he doesn’t care for such a large population of Biharis settled in Surat,’’ said Sharma.
According to Sharma, a large population of Biharis—about four lakh—are employed in the powerloom industry while the rest are employed in the government offices and other businesses. It’s during Diwali vacation that thousands of Biharis travel to their home towns in Bihar to celebrate the festival with their family members. But since there is only one train between Surat and Patna and that too twice a week, they (textile workers) are facing a lot of difficulties. Vice-president of the BVP, Sunil Mishra said, ‘‘The plight of the Biharis travelling in the Bhagalpur-Surat Express during the Diwali vacation is quite disturbing. There are no berths to sit and the coaches are full.’’
The office-bearers of the BVP have represented the issue time and again to the railway ministry and the General Manager of the Western Railways for introducing a new train between Surat and Gaya to be known as Buddha Express. But nothing has been done so far. Therefore, the office-bearers are planning to call upon Laloo Prasad to represent the issues faced by the Biharis settled in Surat on August 7. Sharma said, ‘‘We demand a new train between Surat and Gaya and that the frequency of the Bhagalpur-Surat Express be increased from twice a day to daily.’’
Shailesh Mishra, a textile worker in Pandesara, said, ‘‘There should be more trains toward Bihar. We travel to Bihar only once a year and we are never sure whether we would get a berth or not.’’ Another textile worker, Ramvilas Yadav said, ‘‘It’s quite obvious why Laloo would not listen to the demands as he doesn’t want to work anymore for the Biharis after he lost the recent assembly elections.’’