Dense fog forces flight, train schedule to go haywire

RANCHI: Dense fog in some parts of the country, especially northern India, has thrown flight and train schedules haywire, causing inordinate delays.
Passengers have been greatly inconvenienced with many missing interviews, not being able to reach ailing relatives on time and spending a lot of money on food and water while travelling because of supply shortage.
Instances of flights and trains getting cancelled without prior information are many. Trains that are running are arriving at the Hatia and Ranchi junctions 10 hours behind schedule.
Raju Raghvendra Kumar, airport director of Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi, said on Thursday, "This is owing to the fog that is prevalent in the northern part of the country. Morning flights from Delhi and even Patna cannot take off because of fog. We are trying our best to manage the situation, but it is not in our hands."
On Thursday morning, Indigo and Go Air flights, scheduled to take off from Delhi and Patna, were cancelled and evening flights were diverted. They were flown via Cuttack in Odisha.
Shyamli Kundu, seen waiting for her flight at the Birsa Munda Airport, said, "I had to reach Delhi by evening to attend to my daughter who is unwell. But the morning flight got cancelled and I have been waiting here for five hours. If there had not been an emergency, I would not have bothered." Trains arriving from Delhi were 12 hours behind schedule. On Thursday, the Delhi-Ranchi Swarn Jayanti Express was running five hours late.
However, the Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express was reportedly running more or less on time. When asked about the delayed schedule of trains, B N Mandal, senior divisional traffic manager of Ranchi railway division, said, "This is happening because of fog and lack of clear visibility in north India. If the trains depart late from Delhi then it will reach late here." On Wednesday, the Jammutawi Express arrived 14 hours late while Swarn Jayanti Express was delayed by seven hours. The Kamakhaya and Hatia-Patna expresses arrived three hours late.
The Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, however, left Ranchi junction on time. Passengers were visibly stressed and tired after arriving at the Ranchi railway platform. Sanjay Singh, who had boarded the Swarn Jayanti Express from Delhi on Wednesday, said, "As the train was 12 hours late, there was no water or food in the bogies. I spent all my money on buying food from outside. I had saved this money for my return journey on Friday. I also missed my interview because of the delay. I do not know how I will manage my return journey."