BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Puri railway station was undergoing a major renovation under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme and the city was under the grip of incessant rains all throughout Rath Yatra, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) smoothly handled a staggering average of around one lakh passengers per day as they arrived in the city for the festival.
This, despite the fact that passenger footfall in the pilgrim city during the chariot festival reportedly increased by over 6.78 per cent than last year. The railwaymen managed a crowd of over 13 lakh passengers at the Puri railway station during the course of the festival.
ECoR officials attributed the smooth movement of such large number of devotees to months of planning, detailed contingency measures and coordinated efforts of hundreds of railway employees, who kept operations running seamlessly despite the twin challenges of heavy rainfall and ongoing redevelopment.
“This advance planning, reviewed periodically at the divisional and zonal level, was what allowed the system to absorb 6.78 per cent jump in footfall over last year,” said an ECoR official.
“Coordination was the second pillar. Railway officers held continuous meetings with district administration, state police and temple authorities in the run up to the festival, ensuring that crowd flow outside the station synced with arrangements inside it,” the official added.
He said the ECoR also divided responsibilities among its workforce in a clear manner. From the ticketing staff to the Carriage and Wagon (C&W) Jack team that re-positioned the sacred chariots for Suna Besha, and the Signal and Telecommunication (S&T) personnel manning the communication network to RPF and GRP jawans, each had defined roles, reporting lines and backup personnel.
On the digital front, the RailOne App allowed pilgrims to book tickets from their phones rather than stand in the rain, while automatic ticket vending machines and mobile unreserved ticketing system devices decongested the counters.
A command and control centre, wired to 220 CCTV cameras and 19 video walls, gave officials a real-time picture of crowd density across the station, letting field staff redirect footfall before congestion could build up.
Waterproof holding areas spanning over 16,000 sq mtr and resting zones of over 13,000 sq mtr, backed by 187 temporary toilets, 128 bathrooms, 103 urinals and a team of dedicated housekeeping staff, offered shelter to the pilgrims from the downpour.
Extra rakes were kept stabled at strategic points across the Khurda Road-Puri section to handle surge, while two Amrit Bharat special trains were also run during the period. The first-aid booths and ambulances even attended to roughly 13,000 pilgrims and helped save a critically-ill young girl through timely intervention.
ECoR general manager Parmeshwar Funkwal said despite relentless rain, team East Coast Railway ensured every pilgrim travelled safely and with dignity. “This was possible due to meticulous planning and unwavering dedication of the team,” he added.