Indian Railways has decided to keep Prayagraj Sangam Railway Station closed from February 17 till the end of the month. Meanwhile, stampede at New Delhi Railway Station killed 18 people including four children and a septuagenarian woman on Saturday night.
The decision was made on the basis of a request made by the Prayagraj administration. The Sangam Railway Station will remain shut till February 28 due to the large number of passengers during the Mahakumbh fair. Among the nine railway stations in Prayagraj, the Sangam Railway Station is the nearest to the Maha Kumbh venue.
On February 16 (Sunday), 238 trains ran with over 10.96 lakh passengers from various stations in Prayagraj, while on Saturday, 339 trains carried over 14.76 lakh passengers as per data shared by Shashikant Tripathi, Chief Public Relations Officer of North Central Railway. Since January 13, 52.96 crore devotees have taken a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers,) at the ongoing Maha Kumbh which commenced on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
Indian Railways announces compensation
Meanwhile, Indian Railways has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each, for the families of the deceased in the New Delhi railway station stampede. A compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh each for those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for the minor injured has also been announced by the Indian Railways. Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Delhi Police were deployed on Monday at the New Delhi Railway station to manage the crowd situation.
The stampede broke out at the New Delhi Railway station between 9 pm and 9.20 pm, killing 18 people and injuring several others on Saturday. As per sources, more than 9,600 general class tickets were booked at the New Delhi Railway Station between 6 pm and 8 pm on the day the stampede took place as against the daily average of 7,000 tickets.
New Delhi Railway Station, Photo Credit: AP
Railways forms High level committee for investigation
Indian Railways has formed a two-member high-level administrative grade committee to investigate the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday. The committee comprises Northern Railways’ Principal Chief Commercial Manager Narsingh Deo and Principal Chief Security Commissioner Pankaj Gangwar.
Restrictions on platform ticket sale
After the stampede which claimed 18 lives, Northern Railway has implemented temporary restrictions on the sale of platform tickets at New Delhi railway stations to manage passenger movement smoothly. For the next week, platform tickets will not be issued at New Delhi railway stations between 4 PM and 11 PM.
“The suspension of platform ticket sales from 4 PM to 11 PM at New Delhi Railway Station has been implemented for the next week to manage crowd control,” said Northern Railways CPRO Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay.
