Title - Railway authorities say no rush of devotees, ground realities belie claim

VARANASI: The authorities at the Cantonment railway station point out that the festive rush for Mahakumbh is not visible at the station. But the situation on the platforms is contrary to the claim. A rush of devotees and mismanagement prevails there.Station manager AK Pandey said: "There is no rush of devotees till date. In fact, there was 25 per cent less crowd on Makar Sankranti. If the rush increases, we are prepared to accommodate and manage the crowd."Pilgrims, saints and seers have started arriving in groups. The station is least prepared to deal with the crowd. Ganjesh Bhai, a native of Surat, said: "The platforms and the station are very untidy. We were looking for a wash room but found none. Finally, we had to use the toilet complex on platform number one." Another passenger Kakuri Devi said that the condition of toilets and urinals are not clean. "It becomes troublesome for international tourists to use the public convenience at the station," tourist information officer Uma Shankar said. The arrival of international tourists is expected to increase from January 20, while domestic tourists has already started coming from January 12.Santosh Das, a pilgrim from Ujjain, said: "Station authorities should put a check on miscreants. I lost my bag from a platform."There are only two public conveniences at platform number on and five. Despite claims of railway authorities, the number of benches had not been increased. It forces passengers to sit on the floor with bags and baggage.

The vendors have understood the situation. Hundreds of them selling fruits, edibles, accessories, slippers, wooden toys and devotional articles are making profit.

Most of these pilgrims are from Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and other states and they prefer to stay inside and around the station premises.

NER to run special train when needed: North Eastern Railways (NER) Varanasi division will run a train if the crowd of devotees rushing towards Allahabad will increase unexpectedly any day on the occasion of Mahakumbh.

NER Varanasi division spokesman Ashok Kumar said that 56 express trains connecting Varanasi (Maduadeeh station) with Allahabad are running specially for Maha Kumbh from January 12 to March 12. NER Varanasi division has 200 trains connecting Varanasi and Allahabad.

The footfall of passengers at Maduadeeh station is around 1,200 to 1,400 generally but the number could increase to around 4,000 during Mahakumbh.

On an average, 13 trains will be running between the two districts daily, including seven regular trains, three passenger trains and three Kumbh special. There are three regular ticket counters. Another counter would be opened if the rush increases. The Railways had relaxed rules for purchase of unreserved tickets. Passengers travelling to Allahabad during Mahakumbh will be able to buy unreserved tickets 15 days in advance. The relaxation is between January 14 and March 10.