Coimbatore: As many as 300 members of various political parties turned up at the Mettupalayam railway station on Saturday morning to protest against the operation of the Nilgiri Mountain Rail by private operator Homemade Group TN 43, which has chartered the train.
Members of DMK, MDMK, Congress and Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TDPK) swarmed the station’s entrance and platforms at 7.30am, just as the train was departing. Railway police personnel lined up along the tracks to stop the protesters and arrested 100 people.
TDPK president K Ramakrishnan said allowing the firm to charter the train for four weekends is not good for NMR. “The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, which completes 100 years, was declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). While the train has so much support, why would authorities allow a private firm to operate the train for money? Also, when the regular services were cancelled because of the pandemic, how can you allow a private operator to carry passengers in it?”