Title - Special trains from Haridwar, Doon for rescued pilgrims

Haridwar:
In view of thousands of pilgrims stranded in calamity-struck Uttarakhand, the Railways has started special trains from Haridwar, Dehradun and Rishikesh to other parts of the country.Stranded passengers are being transported free of cost as per coordination between the Railways and the Uttarakhand Government ensuring that sufficient empty coaches are sent to Haridwar and Dehradun.Three special trains were run yesterday to Lucknow, Delhi and Ambala and more were being planned as per the expected requirement in the coming days, according to sources in the Ministry of Railways.A task force has also been set up at the level of the Railway Board under its Chairman Vinay Mittal, who is monitoring the situation.The Northern Railway, under which the Moradabad Division, Haridwar and Dehradun railway stations fall, have also geared up by making additional arrangements for the pilgrims.Senior officers have been deputed as special officers in charge of four most crucial points. These officers will be responsible for liaison and coordination with the state civil authorities, ensuring management and dispersal of passengers by trains, running of special trains and also ensuring setting up of 24-hour passenger help booths at these locations.The designated officers are Sanjeev Garg for Dehradun (09717630953), DK Singh for Rishikesh (097171630969), Hitendra Malhotra for Haridwar (09760534001) and Vivek Shrivastava for New Delhi (09717631001).

Railway Police Force officials with adequate personnel of inspectors and constables have also been deputed at these four locations along with doctors and paramedical staff.

Adequate arrangements of catering facility, drinking water and frequent announcements via a public address system regarding the status of trains and other passenger-related information is also being done

Meanwhile, a delegation of the BJP met railway officials and complained about lack of sufficient additional trains for the disaster-affected pilgrims from Haridwar.

Led by party unit district chief Vikas Tiwari, the activists gave a memorandum in this regard to Moradabad Divisional Manager Hitendra Malhotra. They demanded extra bogies and trains from Haridwar to other parts of the country.

Malhotra said additional bogies were being attached to the trains bound for Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states. In case of cancellation of reservation, full payment was being done to the passengers.

He added that additional counters and information centres had been set up at the Haridwar and Rishikesh railway stations in view of a rise in the number of passengers owing to the natural calamity. The passengers mainly comprise pilgrims who were rescued from Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Karanprayag, Tehri, Srinagar, Garhwal and Rudraprayag areas.

HELPLINE NUMBERS

Haridwar: 09760534054, 09760534055

Dehradun: 0135 2622131

Rishikesh: 0135 2434167