Video: Hundreds crowd Mumbai railway station to board train to Bihar ahead of Chhath Puja
People are seen standing in long queues for tickets. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been kept on alert mode so that there is no stampede during this period.
As the Chhath Puja is approaching, the footfall surged at Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Terminus LTT) on Tuesday. Due to the increasing number of people in the train, passengers are facing a lot of trouble. People are also seen standing in long queues for tickets. Meanwhile, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been kept on alert mode so that there is no stampede during this period.
Speaking to the media, some people said that despite having tickets, the crowd in the train is making it difficult to travel smoothly. People of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, living outside of their states, face this issue every year as they try to go to their homes during Diwali and Chhath Puja. Although the Railways has also started special trains for Chhath Puja, the number of people has not reduced.
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RPF personnel on toe
The condition of the crowd is such that a lot of people arrived at the station 24 hours in advance. At the same time, many passengers have left 2 to 3 trains since morning on Tuesday because there is no space to step in the train. There is a crowd everywhere from the platform to the ticket counter. Meanwhile RPF personnel are continuously making announcements and people are being asked to stand in queues to avoid any untoward incident.
Indian Railway announces special trains
In order to address the rush ahead of the Chhath Puja, the Indian Railways announces the operation of special trains every year. To allow people to celebrate the festivals with their families, the Railway has once again announced a large number of special trains for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, aiming to alleviate holiday traffic this year.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishanaw said that a total of 283 special trains will be running across the country during the holiday season. To cater to the influx of passengers during Chhath Puja, a significant number of these trains will operate from Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune to different cities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
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