New Delhi: Cancellations of several trains on the New Delhi-Varanasi-Bihar route following the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night that claimed 18 lives and left 25 people injured has led to extreme passenger inconvenience.
Many passengers are getting to know about the cancellations only after turning up at the station which jeopardised their travel plans. On top of it, the deployment of heavy police force from the foot overbridge to the station complex with barricades for crowd management has added to their woes.
According to railway officials, additional RPF jawans have been deployed to beef up the security parameters and crowd control at New Delhi Railway Station. The majority of the Bihar and Purvanchal-bound trains are being operated from platforms 13, 14, 15 and Ajmeri Gate, leading to a surge in crowd on these platforms.
On the fateful night, platforms 13 and 14 were already crowded with passengers going to Purvanchal. Along with this, passengers to Kumbh were also waiting on the same platforms. Suddenly, it was announced that a train for Maha Kumbh would depart from platform 16, which led to the stampede as passengers scrambled to catch the train, the official added.
"There was a huge crowd on platforms 13 and 14 when the stampede occurred. People started running towards platform 16 through the stairs with their luggage. Those who fell in the fiasco did not get a chance to get up. There was screaming and chaos at the station. Railways staff helped a lot in admitting the injured to the hospital," a railway employee said on the condition of anonymity.
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