ER Makes Special Arrangements for Tarakeswar Pilgrim Rush

“There are lakhs of devotees every Monday. There is a huge rush this year. We are ensuring safe, seamless and comfortable travel for the devotees during the ongoing Shravani Mela at Tarakeswar. Senior officers conducted a comprehensive inspection at Tarakeswar station to review passenger amenities, crowd management, safety measures and overall operational preparedness,” a senior ER official said.

Officials recorded a footfall of nearly 1.60 lakh pilgrims on Monday, August 3, a 34.30 per cent increase over the previous year. Seoraphuli station, from where the tracks branch off towards Tarakeswar, handled 83,963 devotees on the same day — a 26.64 per cent rise over last year.

To manage the surge, ER has established three temporary holding areas at Tarakeswar station with a combined capacity of 5,920 passengers. These areas are equipped with adequate lighting, fans, drinking water and mobile charging facilities. Ticket issuance has been strengthened through the deployment of 11 additional UTS counters, seven mobile UTS counters and 10 automatic ticket vending machines operated by dedicated facilitators.

Fourteen pairs of additional EMU special trains running between Howrah, Seoraphuli, Barddhaman and Tarakeswar have been introduced for the period. During the first three peak weekends, a total of 246 special train trips were operated, supported by a dedicated EMU scratch rake stationed at Tarakeswar for immediate deployment during emergency surges.

Passenger safety is being monitored through 70 CCTV cameras, including 25 solar-powered units, which stream live feeds to a dedicated Railway Protection Force war room for real-time surveillance. Nearly 410 RPF personnel are deployed on every peak Sunday and Monday, operating in close coordination with the Government Railway Police, Civil Defence, Hooghly Police and the district administration.

Comprehensive medical arrangements, including ambulances, emergency medical teams and CPR-trained railway staff, remain stationed on site throughout the Mela period.

“Apart from the pilgrims, we also have to ensure the smooth travel of regular commuters. Lakhs of people commute in this section daily. We have to ensure that they are not inconvenienced due to the additional rush. Surveillance is also being maintained at other stations to ensure that daily commuters are not harassed,” the official added.

The multi-layered arrangements aim to balance the heavy seasonal pilgrim traffic with the needs of regular passengers on the busy section.