Ara Rly. Station was epicentre of protest during Bharat Bandh

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Ara railway station was the epicentre of the protest during Bharat Bandh on April 10, 2018. All the organisations opposing the caste based reservation in educational institutions and jobs reached Ara railway station and registered their protest. They put hurdles on the railway track and stopped the Buxar-Patna passenger train for about six hours. They boarded the rail engine and raised slogans against the caste based reservation policy of the government though they hailed the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act.

The traffic at Tribhuani Kothi tri-junction just outside the Ara railway station remained  blocked from all three sides which go towards Katira, Mangal Pandey Path, and Nawada, till the afternoon.

Most of the prominent bandh supporters including Nirmal Singh Sakarwar, Sri Kumar Singh, Rajeshwar Singh, Mrityunjay Bhardwaj, Lav Pandey, Durgacharan Mishra staged demonstration at Tribhuani Kothi tri-junction and raised slogans against caste based reservation.

Hareram Singh, former Mukhia and resident of Chhotaki Sasaram, was to travel to Ara by bus from his native village with his family members but he had to cancel his trip. “Buses and vehicles were being stopped, so we had to cancel the trip. Had I been alone, I could have taken the risk but I had to travel with my children and wife,” he said. The protestors damaged many rickshaw and three wheelers. Police arrested 25 persons for arson and firing at Ara during bandh.

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