Special facilities at Ludhiana railway station for migrants headed home for Holi
Holding area, day & night help desk, medical aid counter have been set up
The Indian Railways has made adequate arrangements for migrants heading to their native places to celebrate the Holi festival. From the setting up of a special holding area and day and night help desk, the railways is trying to provide all possible convenience to the migrants, most of whom are industrial workers in the city.
The Ludhiana railway station, which is among the busiest stations of the state, manages a daily footfall of approximately 50,000 travellers. During major festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Chhath, the number of visitors surges to 70,000 or 80,000, forcing officials to implement advanced strategic measures.
Without these steps, the situation at the station would go beyond control of railway staff.
The Ferozepur Division has also been operating nine pairs of festival special trains in addition to the regular scheduled trains. Rail passengers are requested to take full advantage of the Holi special services.
As The Tribune team visited the railway station to take stock of the festive rush and arrangements, a special holding area was seen where a tent was pitched and migrants waiting for their trains were seen sitting there. In the waiting area, mats were laid and fans were installed for the passengers.
A day and night ‘May I help you’ desk was also been set up adjoining the tent where railway employees are available 24x7 to answer queries of the passengers.
A railway official sitting there said special tents were set up due to the Holi festive rush as footfall of migrants usually increases these days. Purpose of creating the holding area is to ensure that migrants do not gather at the railway platform, causing chaos, and they should enter the platform only during arrival of of their trains. Even a food van has also been stationed at the railway station, where any passenger can buy eatables at reasonable rates.
A medical aid counter was also set up to offer first aid to passengers during any emergency.
Even a fire tender has also been stationed at the railway station to tackle any kind of emergency. “Fire tenders are stationed here 24x7 due to the festive rush,” said a fire station employee.
A migrant, Sonu Prasad, who was sitting with his wife and children in the waiting area, said: “I work at a factory in Ludhiana. Since Holi is approaching, we are going to Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, to celebrate the festival with our kin. Railways have done adequate arrangements for Holi. We are not facing any inconvenience at the station. We will move to catch our train as per its schedule.”
Another passenger, Ratan Yadav from Bihar, said even during Chhath festival, the railways had done similar arrangements for migrants. Besides Ludhiana, railway stations at other places in the state were also offering similar services to the migrants.
“If we talk about past years, migrants used to face issues such as shortage of trains heading to UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, etc, but now for the past few years, the railways are running special trains and also increased the halt time so that migrants can board trains without any difficulty,” said Ajay Yadav, a migrant from Bihar.
Man suffers injuries while trying to deboard moving train
A man suffered injuries in his arm while trying to deboard a moving train at the Ludhiana railway station. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) rescued him and gave him first aid at the special medical aid counter set up at the station. “The passenger might have suffered fractures in his arm. After giving him first aid, he was suggested to visit a hospital for further treatment,” said a railway official overseeing the medical counter.
40% of migrant population going for celebrations
Ludhiana, being an industrial hub, has a significant migrant population, many of whom hail from states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Migrant workers are engaged in almost every section of the industry here and they celebrate festivals with zeal.
To celebrate the Holi festival with their families back home in UP and Bihar, about 40 per cent of the migrant population is going to their native places. It has emerged as a matter of concern for the industry.
Badish Jindal, president, World MSME Forum, said every year during Holi, a huge number of labourers go to their home states. “The only concern is that they take a lot of time to return to the city, due to which the work at factories suffer,” he said.
