Debabrata Saikia urges Railway minister for resumption of local train services in Assam

Guwahati: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia has urged Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to urgently issue orders for resumption of local train services in the state which was stopped last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to Goyal on Thursday, the senior Congress leader said that in his earlier letter to the Railway Minister in October last year, he had urged for resumption of local train services in the state, but no action has been initiated in this regard so far even though three months have elapsed.

The Leader of Opposition said regular train commuters are facing immense hardship as no local trains are plying in the state.

The worst affected persons are petty traders and vendors who travel by train to sell their wares in urban areas on a daily basis, as also employees who travel daily to their workplaces in urban areas and return home in the evening, Saikia told the Railway minister.

Operation of local train services is essential for such people because their livelihood is inextricably linked to this facility, he added.

Saikia urged Goyal to urgently issue necessary orders for resumption of the local trains in Assam in public interest.