People sign their names at Postal Park in Bistupur. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Jan. 25: People of all communities today signed their names at a campaign to push for the Mandir-Masjid Express.

The train would connect Puri with Ajmer and pass through Tatanagar railway station.

Organiser said around 300 people signed in support of the express train. They said they would soon initiate a post card campaign also so that the train starts at the earliest.

The organisers plan to dispatch 10,000 post cards to railway minister Lalu Prasad requesting him to start the train as soon as possible.

Members of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Jamshedpur Marwari Yuva Manch, Singhbhum Marwari Sammelan, Agarwal Sammelan and Garib Nawaz Madarsa took part in the campaign. Rabindra Kumar Jha, the district Congress president, and Devendra Singh, the district BJP president of intellectual cell, were also present at the campaign.

The participants at the campaign said the proposed train would link two tourist destinations, one that is famous for a temple another for a mosque. The demand for a direct train from Tatanagar to Rajasthan was placed before the authorities concerned about 10 years ago but no step has been taken.

“The railway minister should look into our demand to connect two tourist destination via Tatanagar. There are many passengers on this route. This was evident from a recent railway survey,” said vice-president of SCCI Suresh Sonthali.

He said this time all the community members are asking for the train.

“People from this part of the country can easily visit Rajasthan and know about its rich cultural heritage. We are sure that the Union government would listen to our demand this time,” said a person signing his name on the canvas.

The train would be a symbol of communal harmony as both Hindu and Muslims would travel on it, he said.

At present, the passengers from Tatanagar have to change trains to reach Ajmer. The organisations are demanding daily train on this route in view of the huge rush on this route.