Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Thursday said more than 16,000 trains were operated for the Mahakumbh that carried around five crore devotees to the pilgrimage. Mahakumbh which takes place once in 12 years, began on January 13 (Paush Purnima) and concluded after 45 days on February 26 in Prayagraj. The mega religious event drew a record over 66 crore pilgrims.
Vaishnaw, who was here to congratulate the railway workers for the work done by them during the Maha Kumb Mela, told reporters that in the last Kumbh in 2019, about 4,000 trains were operated.
"This time there was a plan to run more than three times as many trains, while four times as many trains were run. Work has been going on for this for two-and-a-half years," he said.
"4.5 to 5 crore passengers were brought to Mahakumbh through more than 16,000 trains and they were taken to their destinations. I would like to thank all the railway workers who worked together," he added.
"The biggest achievement of this Mahakumbh is that all the departments of the State and the Centre and the employees of the railways worked together. In this way, if we all become one, then no one can defeat us," the minister said.
21 flyovers and underpasses were built for Mahakumbh
Vaishnav said about Rs 5,000 crore was invested by the railways for the Mahakumbh and more than 21 flyovers and underpasses were built, including the construction of a new bridge over the River Ganga.
"Also, holding areas were created at every station and proper arrangements were made for the passengers. During this time new types of foot over bridges were built. Railways made all kinds of arrangements keeping passengers in mind," he said.
Mahakumbh was like a nation breathing with a new consciousness: PM Modi
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened the massive Maha Kumbh congregation to the newly awakened consciousness of a nation breathing freely after breaking the shackles of a slavery mindset.
"The Maha Kumbh has concluded. The 'mahayagna' of unity has concluded," he wrote in a blog, a day after the mega religious exercise concluded, and said the country has to now march ahead with a similar sense of self-confidence and unity to fulfil the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
(With PTI inputs)