Passengers outside Anand Vihar Railway station, Friday. The Northern Railways had announced special trains during the Chhath festival. Amit Mehra
Heavy rush at New Delhi Railway station as people go home for Chhath puja
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“I had booked my tickets four months back. Our train was delayed by five hours but we have no complaints. I’m happy I’ll reach home by tomorrow,” said Arvind Prasad, who was heading to Bihar’s Siwan with his family from New Delhi railway station Friday, just in time for Chhath Puja.
Like Prasad, hundreds were waiting at the station to board special trains bound for their hometowns. The Northern Railways had announced these special trains between Delhi, Odisha, and Bihar to ease the extra rush of passengers during the Chhath festival, to be observed between November 17 and 20.
At the station, Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel patrolled the platforms, their shrill whistles cutting through announcements and conversations, to manage the crowd. The personnel snapped their batons on the ground in warning, and the first few lines of the crowd acquiesced by crouching beneath a yellow rope that was drawn across the platform.
When the Sampoorna Kranti Express, one of the nine Chhath special trains bound for Bihar, pulled onto the platform, passengers rushed to clamber onto it. In the melee, some were pulled off, others were smacked by the batons as personnel tried to control the rush.
Subedar, a wedding dhol player who was pulled off the train, sat on the platform watching the train leave. “I managed to get my family on board but police told me to get off,” he said while showing his general ticket. He said he looked forward to seeing his family for the festivities.
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The train, meanwhile, was packed, with those who failed to find a seat sitting in the passage between coaches with their luggage as make-shift beds. Others hung off the doors.
Sitting on the platform with his wife, Kanhaiya Sahu, who was waiting for his train to Raxaul in Bihar, pointed to the rush and said: “It feels like the crowd gets bigger every year, but I can’t wait to reach home.”
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The Northern Railways arranged for holding areas at New Delhi and Anand Vihar stations where passengers can wait for their trains. They also arranged for food and enquiry counters and extra ticket kiosks to meet festivity-related rush. Platform tickets are not being sold to restrict crowding in the stations.
