Devotion peaks at Sangam as pilgrims converge ahead of ‘Mauni Amavasya’
Railway stations, bus terminals, and highways are crowded with devotees eager to reach the Sangam for the sacred ritual of a holy dip.
The Railway Ministry has decided that permanent waiting areas will be created outside 60 busy stations across the country as part of the latest crowd control measures, and this key decision is based on the experiences of the Mahakumbh.
The decision was taken on Friday in a high-level meeting that was headed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on crowd control at stations.
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Based on the experiences of the previous festive season and the Mahakumbh, permanent waiting areas will be created outside 60 stations across the country, which periodically face heavy crowds.
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Pilot projects have started at the New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Patna stations. Passengers will be allowed to go to the platforms only when the trains arrive at the platform. This will decongest the stations.
Complete access control will be initiated at the 60 stations. Only passengers with confirmed reserve tickets will be given access to the platforms, and all unauthorised entry points will be sealed.
Among the other key decisions that were taken in the meeting, two new designs of 12 metre wide (40 feet) and 6 metre wide (20 feet) standard foot over bridge(FOB) have been developed. These wide FOBs with ramps were very effective in crowd management during Mahakumbh.
These new standard-wide FOBs will be installed in all the stations.
Cameras helped crowd management in a big way during Mahakumbh. A large number of cameras will be installed in all stations and adjoining areas for close monitoring.
War rooms at large stations will be developed. Officers of all departments will work in the war room during crowd situations.
All major stations will have a senior officer as station director. The station director will be financially empowered so that he can make on-the-spot decisions to improve the station.
The station director will also be empowered to control the sale of tickets according to the station’s capacity and the trains available.
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