Balangir, Jan. 12: Deputy station superintendent of Kantabanjhi railway station Subhas Majhi was injured as stranded passengers of three trains ransacked the station this afternoon.

The irate passengers, who were stranded at Kantabanjhi railway station since morning because of a rail-roko agitation staged by Kantabanjhi Railway Users’ Association, started pelting stones at the station office, injuring the deputy station superintendent and damaging articles in the office. Majhi has been admitted to Kantabanjhi hospital. No arrests had been made till the filing of this report.

At least three trains — Surat-Puri Superfast Express, Durg-Puri Intercity Express and Raipur-Bilaspur Passenger — were stranded at Kantabanjhi railway station since morning leaving passengers in great discomfort. Railway traffic on the Raipur-Visakhapatam and Raipur-Bhubaneswar routes was disrupted as trains were detained at different stations on both sides of Kantabanjhi.

The rail-roko agitation was staged to protest against the railway authorities’ apathy towards a demand for the extension of the Rourkela-Titilagarh Superfast Express to Kantabanjhi.

Raja Sahu, a passenger travelling in the Surat-Puri Express, said it was nightmarish to be stranded for such a long time. “We have been here since 5am as some people have staged rail-roko. It has been 12 hours, and yet no solution has been reached. Passengers are paying the price for no fault of their own. It’s especially bad for the women and children in this biting cold,” he said.

Surath Behera, who was travelling by the Visakhapatnam-Raipur Passenger to Kantabanjhi, said he was stranded at Kesinga railway station since morning.

“I had some urgent work in Kantabanjhi. Now, I know I can’t do it. As a resident of Kantabanjhi, I believe the demand is justified and the railway authorities should seriously think about it (extending the Rourkela-Titilagarh Super Fast Express to Kantabanjhi),” Behera said.

Anil Agrawal, general secretary of the Kantabanjhi Railway Users’ Association, said that the protesters had given an ultimatum to the railway authorities.

“Even last month, we had staged rail-roko and had given them January 12 as the last date to meet our demands, but they didn’t pay heed. We have not been given any assurances so far,” Agrawal said.

Agrawal said the association was taking care of the needs of the stranded passengers. “We are providing them with food and water and also trying to meet their other needs,” he said.

Titilagarh sub-collector Biswa Sahu said the strike was called off after the chief passenger transport manager of Orissa promised the agitators that their demand would be placed before the Railway Board.