| Railway authorities say no rush of devotees, ground realities belie claim by railgenie on 18 January, 2013 - 06:00 AM | ||
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 railgenie | Railway authorities say no rush of devotees, ground realities belie claim on 18 January, 2013 - 06:00 AM | |
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. | ||