T’puram: There was a huge rush in buses and trains as several people travelled home from Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday evening to cast their votes.The buses on Kottayam, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kozhikode routes were crowded till 11.30pm. The unusual crowd inconvenienced many passengers as there were inadequate buses. People were irked that there were no special trains or special buses to travel home for the election. The rush was also because the two-day leave — Friday and Monday — will also lead to a seven-day extended break. Kavya M, who travelled home to Kollam to cast her vote, said, “There are no trains at night. The buses were crowded from 9pm onwards. I skipped many buses because of the rush, and had to wait till 11.30pm. The Minnal services too were full. There should have been special buses,” Kavya said. “I managed to reserve a lone seat in a Minnal service that left late at night,” she added. The trains too were running full from the evening, and railways did not operate special trains. Though the election commission conducted campaigns and promotional videos encouraging people to vote, provision was not made for people to travel. Liyons J of Friends on Rail said that the railways should have operated special trains as many people travel within the state and also from neighbouring states to cast their votes.
