In the absence of a direct official train between Raxaul and Patna, a special train will chug for 11 hours before reaching the state capital on November 4.
Sabir Ali, businessman-turned-Rajya Sabha member and a close aide of Nitish kumar has booked the train for Rs 9 lakh to carry thousands of party workers from Bihar-Nepal border district to Patna, to attend the JD(U)’s ‘Adhikar’ rally.
“Besides, I have deposited Rs 4.5 lakh for its stoppage (halt charge) at Patna as the same train will carry the party workers back to Raxaul on the evening of November 4,” Sabir said.
Nearly 10 lakh people are expected to attend the rally at the historic Gandhi Maidan here, where Nitish’s mentor the late Jaya Prakash Narayan had given a call for Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) 38 years ago.
Nitish has convened the rally as a show of strength to the Centre from whom he is seeking special status to Bihar.
A senior official of the East Central Railway (ECR) said the special train, consisting of 18 bogies, would stop at Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Barauni and Mokama before reaching Patna. “It will have a medical team comprising doctors and attendants to look after the passengers, as there is no cap on the number of persons travelling in a booked train,” the official added. Asked about the booking amount, the railway official clarified, “The amount is not charged according to the number of passengers but on the basis of the number of coaches.”
Sabir, who is into real estate, exports and hospitality business in Mumbai, originally hails from Champaran and was earlier elected to the Rajya Sabha.
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