No food, no toilet for hours: Train passengers share ordeal over huge rush for Kumbh
Times of India | 20 February 2025
12 Kolkata: The unprecedented rush to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, has made train journey a nightmarish experience for passengers who had booked their tickets in premium 2AC or 3AC compartments months in advance.
Aniruddha Dey, 58, of Behala and his family had booked 3AC tickets from Chandigarh to Howrah, culminating their trip to Himachal Pradesh. Little could he have foreseen the horrendous 43-hour journey ahead without access to food or toilet, after hundreds of ticketless passengers forcefully boarded their compartment from Prayagraj. "I booked the tickets four months in advance. If I were aware of this nuisance, I would never returned by train," said Dey. The train, 13 hours late, took six hours to cover a distance of 117km from Fatehpur to Prayagraj. "After the train left Prayagraj, there was no space to move an inch. I was forced to make a desperate attempt to reach the toilet by almost hanging from the top," he said. Rijit Dey, a first-year CA student travelling in the same compartment, said, "Thanks to almighty God that we were able to reach home safely."
Rhishita Pathak and her family from Dum Dum also had a horrid experience during their return trip from Himachal. Pathak had boarded the Jallianwala Bagh Express from Ambala Cantonment on Sunday, and the train was 14 hours late. "The badly behaved crowd did not even spare our 2AC compartment. It was a nightmare with zero access to the toilets and pantry for more than 20 hours," she said. "I asked the coach attendant why they opened the compartment doors at Prayagraj, and he replied that they would be beaten up if they didn't allow them to enter," she added.The train finally reachedSealdah station on Tuesday morning.
Krishanu Banerjee had booked a 2AC ticket onPoorva Express from Howrah to Prayagraj. But, after the journey started on Tuesday, more than 300 people slipped into the compartment from Asansol onwards.To make matters worse, the air conditioning system was barely functioning. Sunil Kumar Ghosh (83) of Anandapur also faced similar harassment during his journey to Prayagraj on a Kumbh special train last Saturday from Howrah. "On my return journey, I am thinking of travelling by flight or bus, cancelling myconfirmed train ticket," he said.
An official from Eastern Railways blamed fog for the delay in trains travelling northwards. The official also blamed the huge rush for the Maha Kumbh, where 55 crore devotees have already taken the holy dip, for the over-crowded trains. The festival will conclude with the last shahi snan (royal holy dip) on Feb 26, the day of Maha Shivratri.
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