Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw during a press conference. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Railways is mulling the possibility of taking down publicity ads and promotional material on railway stations, especially at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS), that may attract passengers to travel to the Kumbh Mela.
Two days after the tragic stampede at the NDLS, which left 15 persons dead and 18 others injured, sources in the Railways said the Kumbh devotees rush was unprecedented and was not coming down, as had been earlier expected.
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“Up to 2.9 crore passengers have been plied to Kumbh since the beginning of the Mela by trains. Even on February 16, a day after the stampede, 18.48 lakh passengers were ferried to Kumbh in 388 trains and till 6 p.m. on Monday another over 14 lakh passengers were transported in 266 trains. The Kumbh rush will continue to swell till February 26,” officials said.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told The Hindu that up to 60 railway stations, including the NDLS, across India which handle heavy crowds had been identified and permanent holding areas would be built there to handle extra rush. “Most passengers travelling to the Kumbh Mela arrive from a radius of 300 km of Prayagraj. Stations where there is heavy accumulation of crowds include New Delhi, Patna, Aara, Danapur and Buxar have been chosen,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. “Feedback will be taken from passengers, porters and vendors in a sustained campaign to implement decongestion measures,” he said.
Mr. Vaishnaw clarified that the timing of the stampede was 8.49 p.m., when 20 to 25 passengers, few of them carrying heavy load on their heads, started walking from Platform 14 (where Prayagraj Express was expected to arrive) to Platform 12, anticipating to catch the recently announced Prayagraj Special train. Both trains were expected at almost the same time.
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Carrying heavy load
“A few women and children were sitting on steps leading to Platform 12. There was very constricted area for passengers to walk. A few passengers who were carrying heavy load tripped and fell toppling over the others sitting on steps, causing the unfortunate incident,” he added.
After the stampede, counter sale of platform tickets has been stopped by the Railways till February 26, in a bid to prevent additional rush from descending on platforms.
In order to accommodate increasing passengers, Railways is running more special trains when ticket sales surge, and officials said they could not cap sale of unreserved tickets if passengers wish to travel, as they could not be denied the opportunity. “On the day of the stampede, 2,600 additional tickets were sold over and above 5,000 in the evening rush hour and more trains were run to ferry crowds,” officials said.
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On a question about victims’ kin being paid ex-gratia amount in cash was contradicting the Railway Board circular of 2023 that not more than ₹50,000 can be given in cash, Mr. Vaishnaw said this was an extraordinary situation and even in earlier incidents cash had been distributed as it became cumbersome and time-consuming to gather bank account details, while cash could be used in time of crisis. Railways distributed nearly ₹2 crore in cash as compensation post the stampede to victims and their families.
Mr. Vaishnaw said the operating manuals of the Railways were in a need of a re-haul to assimilate better crowd control protocols in place.
Published – February 17, 2025 10:01 pm IST