It has become imperative that Railways Divisions all across the country should strictly enforce the prohibition on people’s entry into stations without valid tickets or the stipulated platform tickets. It is unfortunate that presently there are a number of Railway Stations in the country where ticketless people can enter and roam freely without any check.
In this context, the East Central Railway (ECR) has clarified that it has been strictly enforcing the prohibition on people’s entry into stations without valid tickets in view of the heavy rush of passengers across Bihar for Maha Kumbh. The statement has been issued after 18 people died in a stampede at one of the packed platforms in New Delhi Railway Station.
As it is already a rule that people cannot enter the railway platforms without having valid tickets or designated platform tickets, the only thing which the concerned authorities have to ensure is the implementation of this norm in letter and spirit to ease out pressure especially during the days when extraordinary rush is expected at train stations like the Maha Kumbh Time.
It is for sure that if such a precaution would have been taken by the authorities at New Delhi Railway Station, many among the eighteen precious lives could have been saved. There is also a dire need that the GRP personnel deployed at the Railway Stations should also be given a specialized training for crowd management to avoid tragedies like the one occurred at Delhi. Considering the incident of stampede in the country’s capital, it has become necessary to implement all the rules meant for smooth traversing of passengers inside and outside the Railway Stations and also keeping a check against any kind of ploy to create such critical situation which could lead to chaotic situations resulting into injuries and even deaths of the railway passengers.
All said and done, it is needful to ensure enforcement of regulations prohibiting ticketless entry at stations to prevent overcrowding and maintain safety. The Delhi stampede is the testimony to the fact that lax security measures can have devastating consequences.
By following ticketing rules religiously, promising better crowd management practices, and placing well-trained security personnel the helmsmen can ensure safety of passengers and prevent all avoidable tragedies. There is dire need to take aforesaid urgent measures to address the issue in hand across all railway stations whether it is Kashmir or Kanyakumari.
