City railway station witnesses huge rush as migrants head to Bihar for Chhath Puja

As migrants are heading to their native places in Bihar for Chhath Puja, the city railway station has been witnessing a huge rush for the past few days.

Trains to Bihar have been packed since Diwali for Chhath Puja.

During a visit to the railway station, it was found that the railways have made special arrangements for the convenience of passengers but the latter are so eager to board trains that they resort to pushing and shoving when these arrive.

Late on Thursday night when Howrah Mail reached platform 2, passengers who were sitting in the waiting room got up and started running towards it. From the railway’s crowd management team to Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, everyone tried to stop them but they were so desperate to get on the train that they started pushing and shoving. Those who couldn’t find a way in through doors, started entering the train through emergency windows.

On Friday also, when a special festive train from Ludhiana to Supaul started, similar chaotic scenes were witnessed.

After noticing the jostling at the railway station, while boarding trains, the railway authorities have now started sending passengers to platforms only 30 minutes prior to their arrival. Before that, passengers are being held in the waiting area. Before arrival of trains, passengers are informed about location of their coaches.

Meanwhile, the railway’s common announcement system is continuously informing people. Railway scouts are also using microphones to raise awareness and appeal for peace at the station. A waiting area for 500 persons has been set up on the station premises. It is equipped with fans. Mobile toilets have been installed alongside railway’s permanent restrooms to ensure that passengers don’t face any inconvenience. Drinking water has also been provided. Passengers are only allowed to enter the waiting area when their train is scheduled. As many as 56 CCTV cameras have been installed at the railway station for monitoring. These are monitored from three different locations — the station’s control room, the RPF office and the DRM’s office. A war room has been set up for the purpose at the Ferozepur DRM office.

Besides, for crowd management, about 40 railway scouts, additional ticket checkers (TTs), and 100 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been deployed at the railway station. Ticket checkers (TTs) are assisting passengers in boarding trains while the scouts are preventing people from crowding. When trains arrive, they also assist passengers in boarding the same while RPF personnel are engaged in security and crowd control.

Senior DCM Paramdeep Saini said the Ludhiana railway station was the most crowded in the state due to Chhath Puja and thousands of passengers travels from Ludhiana these days. In addition to the regular scheduled trains for passengers, two festival special trains originated from Ludhiana, (04656) from Ludhiana to Supaul at 11:30 am and (04664) from Ludhiana to Patna at 8:20 pm, for the benefit of migrants. A proper announcement was made at the railway station and a message was disseminated among the migrant community so that they could avail the benefit of the special trains.

He said on October 23, two special trains originated from Ludhiana to Supaul and Ludhiana to Katihar while three special trains originated from Ludhiana for various cities of Bihar.