New Delhi: To ensure hassle-free movement of passengers during the Mahakumbh Mela next year where around 30 crore devotees are expected to visit, the railways are seeking firsthand experience and opinions from its senior officers of various departments who were part of the previous Kumbh fairs.
Sources in the railway, part of ongoing preparation for the event told ETV Bharat to organise a smooth and hassle-free commutation of passengers during Mahakumbh Mela, the railways are in touch with senior officers. The railways also held a workshop where the senior officers shared their experiences and challenges during the Kumbh Mela of 2013 and 2019.
Acting on inputs received from the senior officials, the railways is actively preparing a comprehensive plan and implementing it to overcome shortcomings and incidents that occurred during the previous fairs. A meeting in this regard was recently held at Prayagraj.
“The railways has prepared a comprehensive strategy in collaboration with various departments of the state government and police to execute the plan for ensuring hassle-free movement such as separate entry and exit points, route chart and crowd management during the Mahakumbh Mela,” Amit Kumar Singh, Public Relations Officer, Railways Prayagraj Division told ETV Bharat.
Apart from this, Multilingual staff will be deployed in and around the stations and strategic places to guide devotees as the visitors will come from different parts of the country and international countries. Modern public announcement equipment in 22 languages will be installed at the stations during the event. “ We have seen language issues in understanding guidelines or instructions, especially during mega-events. To avoid this language barrier, railways will deploy multilingual staff that will be able to understand visitors' language to guide them properly,” Singh pointed out.
The railway is working on the number of employees required for crowd management during the mela and how they will work in case of any emergency. The railways officials said the infrastructure of Prayagraj and nearby stations is being strengthened.
