More than 2000 trains were affected due to the Agnipath protests across the country, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Parliament on Friday. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, he said 2132 trains were cancelled between June 15 and June 23.
Vaishnaw also said that separate data regarding amount of refund granted to passengers due to disruption of rail services on account of public disorder consequent to agitations like those held after launching of Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces, is not maintained.
“However, during the period 14.06.2022 to 30.06.2022, a total refund of approximately Rs 102.96 crore was granted on account of cancellation of trains and a loss of Rs 259.44 crore due to damage / destruction of railway assets in agitations against Agnipath scheme was incurred. All the affected train services cancelled on account of Agnipath scheme have been restored,” he said.
Amid the mass protests in several parts of the country against the recently launched Agnipath Scheme, railway properties were vandalised, torched or attacked from Bihar to Telangana. The worst-hit East Central Railways — covering Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh witnessed widespread protests.
Earlier, railways had informed the parliament that the cost of granting concessions to passengers “weighs heavily” on the national transporter, ruling out the restoration of the facility for all categories. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said the Indian Railways is already bearing more than 50 per cent of the cost of travel, on an average, for all passengers, including senior citizens, on account of lower fare structure for passenger services.
“Apart from this, due to COVID-19, passenger earnings for the last two years is less in comparison to 2019-20. These have long-term impact on the financial health of the railways. Cost of granting concessions weighs heavily on the railways, hence extending scope of concessions to all categories of passengers, including senior citizens, is not desirable.
The minister attributed the decrease in travelling of number of senior citizen passengers during 2020-21 and 2021-22 due to the pandemic. “In 2019-20, 22.62 lakh senior citizen passengers had opted to give up concession scheme in passenger fare and gave up concessions for the sustained development of Railways with better facilities,” he said.
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