By Akhand in Bhubaneswar
For the convenience of pilgrims and passengers and to cater to extra rush of passengers during Rath Yatra at Puri, East Coast Railway has decided to run 56 special trains from different parts of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Accoding to an east coast Railway press release Two pairs of special trains will leave Howrah on July 3 towards Puri. 0461 Howrah-Puri Passenger Special will leave Howrah at 1.30 pm on July 3 and will arrive Puri at 06.00 am on the Rath Yatra Day (July 4).
In the return direction, 0462 Puri-Howrah Passenger Special will leave Puri at 09.45 pm on July 4 and will arrive Howrah at 11.50 am on the following day.
Similarly, another Special Express train 0809 Howrah-Puri Express Special will leave Howrah at 07.00 pm on July 3 and will arrive Puri at 04.30 am on the Rath Yatra Day. In the return direction, 0810 Puri-Howrah Express Special will leave Puri at 10.45 pm on July 4 and will arrive Howrah at 08.10 am on the following day, the relase told.
Special trains will also run from Puri on July 11, 12, and 13 to clear extra rush on the occasion of Sandhya Darshan, Bahuda Yatra and Sunabesa respectively. Apart from this, East Coast Railway has decided to open 18 ticket booking counters for unreserved tickets. Current ticket counters will be opened round the clock. Additional ticket counters are also to be opened at major stations such as Bhubaneswar , Cuttack , Jajpur-Keonjhar Road , Bhadrak, Brahmapur, Palasa etc.
Passengers have been advised to purchase genuine railway tickets from railway counters to avoid inconvenience en route. Security arrangements have been strengthened by deployment of additional Railway Protection Force staff at Puri and other important stations including passenger trains.
Extra lady RPF staff will also be deployed for security of lady passengers and strict vigil during train escorting. Special squad for traffic control by GRP and special police from state government including sniffer dog, bomb detection squad and metal detectors are being arranged from other Railways for deputation at Puri as a precautionary measure.
One Ambulance and First Aid facility and round the clock availability of Doctors and Nurses is being arranged at Puri Station.
General Manager of East Coast Railway Ajay Kumar Goyal has stressed upon providing smooth train services and to ensure maximum comfort and trouble free journey for pilgrims. He has given strict instructions to officers to ensure proper facilities at Puri and other stations.
Pilgrims to miss
With only one train running between Howrah and Puri because of damage to tracks in the recent floods in Bhadrak and Baleswar district, nearly a lakh of devotees from West Bengal and the North-East would be unable to make the annual pilgrimage to the holy town of Orissa for Rath Yatra this year.
Normally, two pairs of express trains run between Kolkata and Puri and one pair between Kolkata and Orissa’s capital city Bhubaneswar. During Rath Yatra, extra coaches are provided with every train and special trains run between Kharagpur and Puri.
Puri district collector Rashmi Ranjan Patnaik said that of the at least six to seven lakh pilgrims that congregate at Puri for the world-famous chariot festival, at least a lakh pilgrims are from West Bengal.
Filed under: Religion
