Ayyappa devotees stop train after 4 reserved coaches cancelled abruptly

Visakhapatnam: Several Ayyappa devotees squatted on the railway track here and stopped the Visakhapatnam-Kollam junction train in the morning on Thursday after four coaches in which their berths were reserved had been cancelled.

After a stand-off for four hours, the railway added the four coaches and flagged off the train.

The devotees came to the railway station in the morning to board the train that was scheduled to leave the station at 7.20am. Suddenly, the railway announced the removal of four coaches and asked the passengers to avail RAC quota seats allotted in other compartments.

The devotees refused to accept the alternative arrangement. “We booked tickets in August and now we are told to sit and travel. How can we sit for so long and travel,’’ said Sitaram, an Ayyappa devotee from Akkayyapalem.

Four hours later, the officials added the four coaches and the train left the station at 11.30am.

A railway official claimed that it was notified in August itself that sleeper class coaches would be reduced as LHB coaches were being added. The advance reservation was also stopped in August. But, by then, the devotees had booked the tickets. He said there would be no sleeper class coaches for this train from this day.