• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Chhath Puja 2025: With Bihar and Uttar Pradesh's top festival, Chhat Puja, nearing, the railway authorities intensified efforts to manage the puja rush. Railway officials in West Bengal's Sealdah have strengthened arrangements to manage the festive crowd. From Kolkata to Ambala and Visakhapatnam, railway officials across the country are making all efforts to handle the sudden surge of passengers travelling to their native in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

136 trains, including 8 special services, are being operated, with holding areas, water facilities, and a war room set up to monitor crowds round the clock, said the Divisional Railway Managers (DRM), Rajeev Saxena.

ALSO READ: Chhath Puja 2025: Why Devotees Worship Chhathi Maiya During Chhath Mahaparv?

The Eastern Railway has taken extensive steps to manage the increased foot traffic, he added. "We have operated 136 trains this time...8 special trains are also being operated from Kolkata...We have also created a holding area in Sealdah and Kolkata where passengers arriving early will be accommodated. To monitor the crowd, we have set up a war room, which receives live feeds from our stations. We have a large number of RPF staff. We have also availed the facilities of ex-servicemen," Saxena said.

Senior Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Jasram Meena, Sealdah, highlighted that extensive planning for Chhath Puja began months in advance.

ALSO READ: Bihar Elections: Yogi Sparks 'Burqa' Row At BJP Rally In Saharsa, Says 'Congress-RJD Back Veil To Draw Fake Votes'

"For this, we conduct an exercise 2-3 months in advance to decide how many trains we want to run in which areas. This year we have planned 136 trains. We have scheduled 8 additional trains. From the war room, we keep a round-the-clock watch on Sealdah and Kolkata stations. We have arranged water facilities and created a holding area. Manpower is available there around the clock. We also keep M-UTS (Mobile Unreserved Ticketing System) employees at the end of the queues," Meena said.

Union Minister Inspects Arrangements In Ambala

Earlier, on Wednesday, Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu inspected arrangements at Ambala railway station, reassuring passengers about the availability of trains.

"There is no shortage of trains. There is no problem anywhere. Monitoring is being done by setting up a war room. I request the passengers not to panic. Passengers should not travel in the bathroom; another train will arrive. It is our responsibility to get you to your destination before Chhath Puja," Bittu told reporters.

Preparation In Visakhapatnam Division

In the south, Lalit Bohra, Divisional Railway Manager of Waltair, in the Visakhapatnam Division, said that Indian Railways is operating an extensive network of special services to meet the festival demand.

"Because of the festival rush, the number of passengers has increased substantially. The Indian Railway has taken various initiatives to ensure that travel is comfortable. Indian Railways is running more than 12,000 special trains to clear the festival rush. The Waltair Division is running about 209 special trains. Out of which, 67 trains are originating from the division, and the remaining are bypassing, so they have a halt at various stations... About more than 600 extra coaches are added," Bohra added.

The Chhath Puja is set to begin with Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha (October 25), focusing on purification and preparation. This is followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and concludes with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi.

(With ANI inputs)

Also In News