PATNA: The
railways has made it mandatory for devotees going to
Kumbh Mela to carry a Covid-19
RT-PCR negative test report (done 72 hours before boarding) or Covid
vaccination certificate before boarding a train to Haridwar. The religion event is likely to start on February 27 and end on April 30.
According to the ECR chief public relations officer (CPRO), Rajesh Kumar, railways has issued this directive at the instance of
Uttrakhand government, which has announced that RT- PCR or vaccination report must be of 72 hours before visiting Haridwar.
The railways is also gearing up to tackle the huge rush of
pilgrims to Haridwar for the Kumbh Mela. Howrah-Dehradun Kumbh Mela special trains (02327/02328, 02369/02370) are being run every Tuesday and Friday and every Wednesday and Saturday from the Dehradun end via Jhajha –
Patna – Pt Deendayal Upadhaya Junction mainline route for the pilgrims.
The railways has provided stoppages of these special trains at Jhajha, Jamui, Kiul, Mokama, Patna Junction, Ara, Buxar and Pt Deendayal Upadhaya Junction on the mainline route falling under the ECR jurisdiction.
Besides, another Kumbh Mela special train ( 03009/03010 ) is running between Howrah and Rishikesh via Koderma – Gaya – Pt Deendayal Upadhaya Junction Grand Chord ( GC ) route to clear pilgrims’ rush. This special train is given stoppage at Dhanbad, Gomoh, Parasnath, Hazaribagh Road, Koderma, Gaya Junction, Guraru, Rafiganj, Aurangabad Road, Dehri on Sone, Sasaram, Kudra, Bhabua and Pt Deendayal Upadhaya Junction on the GC route under the ECR jurisdiction.
“The ECR, which has adopted the newly introduced KOO app, is already giving information to passengers on its Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram handles. This facility will prove a boon for those who are keen to know every kind of information from railways,” the CPRO said.
Passengers have the choice to send messages to railways with word limit of 400 only. “The KOO app which connects Indians in Indian languages is provided with the facility to post audio, photo and video messages to railways,” the CPRO said.