Herald published an article under the caption ‘Many KRC trains don’t halt at Canacona stations’ on February 18, highlighting the plight of commuters as well as their request for trains to stop at the stations. Within a week, they received a letter from KRC Regional Manager (RM) Md Aasim Sulaiman rejecting their request.
In his letter, which was a reply to a letter sent by Businessmen Association president Diogo Da’ Silva, the RM remarked that the average numbers of ‘originating passengers’ from Canacona station are 126 per day, which includes 103 unreserved passengers and 23 reserved passengers, while the average originating earning is about Rs 18,313 per day.
The RM further stated that eight trains halt at Canacona stations. They are: Trivandrum ‘Netravali’ Express Daily, Mangalore ‘Matsyagandha’ Express Daily, Gandhidham-Nagarcoil Express Weekly, Mangalore-Madgaon Intercity Express Daily, Mangalore-Madgaon Passenger Daily, Madgaon-Karwar DEMU Daily, Madgaon-Karwar DEMU (six days a week), and Mangalore DEMU (six days a week).
He further stated that KRC follows a policy of staggered stoppages, wherein different express trains are given halts at different stations such that all important stations are covered with a halt of express train, and at the same time, the Express/Super fast character of the train is maintained.
His final say in this matter was that, “Considering the present level of traffic, the number of trains given halt at Canacona stations seems to be adequate to cover the requirement of the passengers originating from Canacona and its surrounding areas.”
Speaking to Herald, Diogo and others stated that the long-distance trains halt at Canacona during odd hours, which was inconvenient and people preferred to travel short distance by buses.
He added, “If one wants to travel by train to Margao or Karwar, the distance from the station to the market is long, and rickshaws charge exorbitantly.”
Wilson Fernandes, a hotelier from Canacona, said that there are no direct buses from Canacona to Mumbai and they have travel all the way to Margao to catch a bus or KRC train.
Senior citizen Nativade D’Sa, a social worker and recipient of many State awards, said that the KRC was not a profit-making body and noted that the KRC architects were then Union Ministers Madu Dandavate and George Fernandes and their motto was service to the people and not to make profits.
“The KRC should not look only from the profit point of view, but should alleviate the burden of the people by giving them better services,” said a senior citizen.
