Packed trains, jostling a daily scene at Lko station

After New Delhi railway station stampede, police, railway officials on toes in Lucknow

- HT Correspondents

LUCKNOW: Amid the huge Mahakumbh rush, Prayagraj seems a destination too far for the pilgrims eager for a tryst with the Sangam as passengers jostle to get into trains in almost daily scenes of chaos at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. The day after the New Delhi railway station stampede, there was three-layer security comprising the Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and City Police, at the Charbagh station and other major railway stations in the city on Sunday. Senior police and railway officers were on their toes to manage the crowd.

Sample this. Around 9.20am, there was an announcement from the public address system at the Lucknow NR station: "Train number 04404 Kumbh Special travelling from Delhi to Phaphamau will arrive shortly at platform number 2."

All of a sudden, a swarm of passengers started descending the railway overbridges while some took the underpass. A few adventurous passengers put the lives of their family at risk and crossed the tracks.

The train was packed. Passengers were seen inside even the luggage van. Elderly women and children sat in the washroom, both on Indian and western seats. The berths were already chock-a-block, leaving no space for hundreds waiting in Lucknow to board the train.

Anurag Chaubey, a passenger in the luggage van, said, "I boarded the train at Delhi around 10 pm (Saturday) and it took nearly 12 hours to reach Lucknow. I have no idea when this train will reach its destination and by when I will be able to reach the ghat and take a holy dip. I want to come back to Delhi on Monday morning to resume work because my office has not granted me leave."

Ratika Choudhary, resident of Ghaziabad who was also in the luggage van, said the condition was pathetic and there was no one railway staff to look after passengers.