Locals in Lonavla stage protest, stop Deccan Queen train for over 20 mins
Protesting locals demanded that the long-distance and Vande Bharat trains should be stopped at Lonavla station
The Deccan Queen train heading towards Mumbai was blocked at Lonavla for over 20 minutes on Friday. Protesting locals demanded that the long-distance and Vande Bharat trains should be stopped at Lonavla station.
Protesting locals reached the railway station around 7:30 am raising slogans against the railway administration. Railway police and rural police had deployed a large security here. At around 8:10 am when the Deccan Queen train was travelling from Pune to Mumbai, the agitators got down on the train tracks and climbed onto the train engine while some sat on the tracks.
One of the major demands of protesting locals was - Pune-Lonavla local trains should start between 11 am and 3 pm.
Lonavla station master R Rajput accepted the demand on behalf of the railway administration and promised to start the local trains in the said time frame, as per the instructions received from the railway administration.
Similarly, officials promised to stop five express trains at Lonavala railway station.
“As per the assurance given by the railway administration, if the trains don’t stop and the local services don’t start in the next 10 days, then we will stage a protest and stop all the trains running between Mumbai and Pune,” said Kishore Kirni, a protestor and businessman from Lonavla city.
Similarly, a meeting has been requested with the railway divisional manager within the next eight days.
Another citizen Pratik Mistry said, “I am a student studying in one of the colleges in Pune city and after the 10 am local train the next train is at 3 pm. We want more local trains between 11 to 3 pm slot as a large number of people travel from Lonavla to Pune.”
The train service resumed after police convinced protestors to leave the premises.
