Guwahati, 21 February (HS): Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has implemented several initiatives to facilitate the travel of visiting pilgrims to Mahakumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj. As more than four lakh pilgrims have travelled so far in the jurisdiction of NFR, additional measures have been taken to enhance comfort and efficiency. Railways have focused on increasing the number of security and commercial staff, strengthening safety and improving operations to ensure seamless and hassle-free travel for pilgrims.

NFR CPRO Kapinjal Kishore Sharma has informed on Friday that during Maha Kumbh, about 50 crore pilgrims from across the country have travelled in about 13,000 trains operated by Indian Railways. To manage the increasing rush of passengers, NFR is operating seven to eight regular trains including special trains for Mahakumbh. A total of 26 trips of special trains have been operated so far from Kamakhya, Naharlagun, Guwahati, Katihar, Jogbani and Rangapara. In view of the increasing number of passengers, NFR has introduced these additional train services to ensure a smooth and hassle-free journey for the devotees. So far, about 3.37 lakh reserved passengers and 1.08 lakh unreserved passengers have travelled to Prayagraj by these trains. Out of these, about 1.10 lakh passengers boarded from Guwahati, about 19,300 passengers from Dibrugarh, about 54,100 passengers from New Jalpaiguri and about 34,500 passengers from Jogbani.

For security and crowd management, NFR has deployed a strong team of Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and adequate running staff to ensure seamless train operations. Control rooms have been set up at major stations and divisions for real-time monitoring and efficient crowd management. Additionally, CCTV surveillance has been enhanced at key locations to ensure round the clock monitoring and additional personnel have been deployed at entry and exit gates to regulate the movement of passengers. Special arrangements have been made to ensure the safety and convenience of elderly passengers, women and children.

With thousands of devotees visiting daily during this grand spiritual event, these comprehensive measures highlight NFR’s dedication in ensuring a safe, secure, comfortable and efficiently managed pilgrimage experience.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash