Trains, traffic hit as BJP workers throng for Foundation Day rally

Several trains were delayed and traffic snarled in Mumbai as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers heading for the party's 38th Foundation Day rally at BKC, made unscheduled halts enroute, Western Railway officials said on Friday.

The BJP had organised 28 special trains to ferry the workers for the rally. However, the special trains were late by two to five hours as the Railways did not run them on priority, BJP workers alleged.

Rail activist Subhash Gupta, who was tasked with the railway arrangement, confirmed that trains came in late, but said that regular trains were not affected because of the special services.

"It is true that all the trains arrived late on Central and Western Railways. But we should not blame the Railways as special trains are run for a specific purpose and they are operated in a certain manner so that the schedules of regular trains are not hit or compromised," said Gupta, a former member of the National Railway Users Consultative Committee.

However, commuters faced a tough time during the morning rush hour as party workers coming in for the rally by road contributed to massive traffic snarls.   

Earlier, the Traffic Police issued an advisory asking people to avoid some arterial roads like Santa Cruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), Surve junction on LBS Road, Sion Junction, Dharavi T Junction, Hansbhugra Marg, CST Road, Nehru Road till Ambedkar Junction and Sharadadevi Road.

(With inputs from agencies)