Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday appealed to the Centre to provide special trains for Chhath Puja for people wishing to go to their native places for the festival.
Bihar appealed to the ministry of railways to provide special trains for Chhath Puja.
The chief secretary of Bihar on the instructions of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to the senior officials of the Ministry of Railways over the phone to increase the number of special trains in view of Chhath Mahaparv," said an official press release in Hindi.
"Chhath Mahaparv is the most important festival of Bihar. There is a large number of Biharis living outside Bihar who returns to the state to attend the Mahaparv," the Chief Secretary said.
Notably, to manage the extra rush of passengers in the ongoing festive season, Indian Railways is running 2,561 trips of 211 special trains (in pairs) till Chhath Puja this year.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Railways released an official statement, stating that the Indian Railways will be running additional 32 special services to ensure smooth and comfortable travel for passengers during this festive season.
Special Trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country on railway routes, like Darbhanga, Azamgarh, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Firozpur, Patna, Katihar and Amritsar etc.
Earlier on October 4, Indian Railways had notified 179 special services for the convenience of rail travellers.
Similarly, East Central Railway (ECR) has notified 128 trips of 9 pairs of special trains, Eastern Coastal Railway (ECoR) has notified 94 trips of 6 pairs of special trains, Eastern Railway (ER) has notified 108 trips of 14 pairs of special trains, Northern Railway (NE) has notified 368 trips of 35 pairs of special trains, North Central Railway (NCR) has notified 223 trips of 8 pairs of special trains.
Meanwhile, North Eastern Railway (NER) has notified 34 trips of 2 pair special trains, North Frontier Railway (NFR) has notified 64 trips of 4 special pair trains, North Western Railway (NWR) has notified 134 trips of 5 special pair trains, Southern Railway (SR) has notified 56 trips of 22 special pair trains, South Eastern Railway (SER) has notified 14 trips of 2 special pair trains, South Central Railway (SCR) has notified 191 trips of 19 special pair trains, South Western Railway (SWR) has notified 433 trips of 22 special trains, West Central Railway (WCR) has notified 16 trips of 6 special pair trains and Western Railway (WR) has notified 306 trips of 18 special pair trains.
Earlier, the Ministry statement also read that "May I Help You" booths are kept operational at important stations where RPF Personnel and TTEs are deputed for proper assistance and guidance of the passengers. Medical Teams are available at major stations on call. Ambulance with the paramedical team is also available.
A watch on any malpractices - like cornering of seats, over-charging and touting activity etc. is being done and strictly monitored. Crowd controlling measures by forming queues at the terminus stations under the supervision of RPF staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured.
Chhath Puja is one of the most auspicious festivals in Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The four-day-long festival starts with the 'Nahai Khai' ritual and ends with 'Usha Arghya' (prayers to the rising sun).
People worship the Sun God during the festival, which will be celebrated between October 28-31 this year.
The festival is dedicated to Surya Bhagwan (Sun God), which people believe sustains life on Earth.
