New Delhi: Indian Railways is running special trains across the country to ensure the safe travel of passengers to their hometowns on the occasion of Chhath Puja.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity for Railway Board, informed that the Indian Railways ran more than 160 trains on Thursday and they plan to run more than 170 trains today.
Special arrangements
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity for Railway Board, informed that the Indian Railways have made special arrangements in all important stations in the country including New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Mumbai, Bandra, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.
"The special arrangements are made for people travelling to their hometown during Chhath Puja. We are running different trains to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to clear the rush.
Staff deployed
Yesterday, we ran more than 160 trains and today we have planned to run more than 170 trains. Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railways Protection Force (RPF) staff have been deployed to manage the crowd and Rail Sewaks have been deployed to clear doubts regarding travelling," the railway official said.
Additional coaches have also been added to the special trains, Kumar said while stating that the railways have installed hundreds of CCTV cameras at the stations to monitor the movement of people.
Tickets through online and offline systems
"Tickets are booked through the online and offline system. Those who are unable to get confirmed tickets can get unreserved seats. We have restricted unnecessary movement of travellers. Rel Sevaks are there to assist senior and physically challenged citizens," Kumar said.
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Meanwhile, commuters praised the railways for managing the overcrowding at the station and thanked the Railway ministry for making special arrangements for the passengers.
Special service on Chhath
"Indian railways has ensured the safety of passengers this year on the occasion of Chhath. Passengers are getting special services from the railways so that passengers
can reach their hometowns on time.
I thank the Railway Ministry for making special arrangements for the passengers," said Shailendra, a commuter working at the State Bank of India (SBI).
Another passenger named Bhushan travelling to Patna from New Delhi praised the railways for managing the overcrowding at the station.
Overcrowding and cleanliness
"I am travelling to Patna from New Delhi. There is adequate management to control overcrowding at the station. The government has managed all the overcrowding and cleanliness at the station.
One can book tickets through online and offline methods. There are different gates for reserved and unreserved passengers," said Bhushan.
Ticket booking
Saineesh Kumar, another passenger, said that there were proper arrangements for cleanliness and that there was no problem in booking tickets.
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"I am going to Patna. There are proper arrangements for cleanliness. There was no problem while booking the tickets. Improvement in Delhi Railway station can be seen," Kumar said.
Chhath, important festival
Chhath remains an important festival, majorly celebrated in northern and eastern parts of India including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
In order to provide safe and comfortable travel for commuters amid the festive season, the railways have made arrangements to control the overcrowding at New Delhi railway station.
Items at reasonable rates
Various food stalls have been set up for the passengers in the waiting room and the food items are being sold at reasonable rates.
An RPF desk has been set up to clear the doubts of passengers and the security personnel are monitoring the CCTV footage to ensure the safety and security of passengers. (with Agency inputs)
