Swimming team stages protest

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Members of a district swimming team found themselves stranded at the Thiruvananthapuram railway station on Sunday owing to the negligence of the team management. Nearly 150 young swimmers, mostly schoolgirls, and their parents bound for the State Aquatics Championships at Thrissur staged protest at the station platform after they found that no arrangements had been made for their travel.  According to them, they were told that tickets were booked on the 9.50 a.m. Nethravati Express.  Team members, including girls, had arrived from different parts of the district by 7 a.m., but they found no teachers at the station. By 9.30 a.m. two teachers from the team management arrived and told the team to board the general compartment, which, by then, was packed. No reservations were reportedly made for the team’s travel. The team alighted from the train and staged a protest on the platform. The team management then suggested that alternative arrangements would be made on the Inter-City Express which left at 5.30 p.m. But this was unacceptable to the parents as no arrangements were made for the distribution of food. By then the police arrived on the scene and told the organisers that the young swimmers cannot be made to wait until evening.  They held discussions with the Railway officials who said arrangements can be made on the Kerala Express which was scheduled to leave at 11.30 a.m. The team was asked to board one compartment, but they had to change to another one after the TTE said it was reserved.