SC/ST protests: Over 100 trains affected, several cancelled

Over 100 passenger and mail train services are being affected, several others cancelled and a few more short-terminated as the Dalit agitation over the alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act escalated in several states. The protesters blocked rail and road traffic and resorted to violence in Rajasthan, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. The railways said across its zones, the protesters started gathering at the rail yards since early morning. The services were disrupted when a mob arrived at the Ghaziabad yard around 10 am, Northern Railway officials said. Many trains, including the Saptakranti Express, Utkal Express, Gatiman Express, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi Rajdhani and Kanpur Shatabdi, were stopped ahead of Ghaziabad at Meerut and Modinagar, Northern Railway officials said.