Seat number 64, coach B5 -- The Railway authorities had this particular seat reserved for Lord Shiva onboard the Kashi Mahakal Express, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday from Varanasi. The train will connect three Jyotirlingas -- Omkareshwar near Indore, Mahakaleshar in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi. Here's the inside story.
Before the Kashi Mahal Express could go for an inaugural run, the Railway authorities booked a seat for Lord Shiva, or as revered, Bhole Baba -- Seat number 64, coach B5. It was left vacant for the deity. The move was believed to be a way of seeking blessings of Lord Shiva for the success of the new project. The seat, reserved for Shiva, also has a temple drawn on it to make people aware that the seat is reserved for the Lord Mahakal in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain. The train staff had also temporarily put the photos of Mahakal during the inaugural run.
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi questioned the move and tweeted a photo of the Preamble of the Constitution, tagging the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
"The inaugural run was also not open to passengers. There is going to be no such reserved or dedicated berth for this purpose in the commercial run of the train which is starting from February 20, 2020 onwards," the IRCTC said in the statement.
The national transporter launched its third IRCTC-operated service, the PSU's third corporate train, from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi to Indore in Madhya Pradesh and named it Kashi Mahakal Express.
Light devotional music, two dedicated private guards in every coach and only vegetarian meals will be some of the new features of the fully 3-AC service that will run thrice a week between Varanasi and Indore.
The train will cover 1,131 km between Varanasi and Indore via Lucknow and a distance of 1,102 km between Varanasi and Indore via Prayagraj (Allahabad) in approximately 19 hours.
The train's first commercial run is scheduled on February 20.
It will be third train to be run by the IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations. The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16 from the Varanasi junction.
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