In two-hour period before Delhi stampede, a telltale sign: 2,600 extra general tickets sold

The Indian Express has learnt that, on an average, 7,000 tickets are booked at the New Delhi Railway Station between 6 pm and 8 pm every day. On the day of the incident, however, more than 9,600 general class tickets were booked in the same duration.

In total, more than 54,000 general class tickets were booked through UTS on Saturday. “While there is no doubt that there were a huge number of people on the platform on February 15, it is still less than the total UTS tickets booked on 8 February and 29 January. On both of these days, 54,660 and 58,000 general class tickets were booked respectively. The crowd could have been managed,” said a senior official of the Ministry of Railways.

Another official said that because of the rush to take dip in the Triveni sangam during Maha Kumbh, the total tickets booked can not give a clear picture of the actual crowd. “Because of the Maha Kumbh, currently, Indian Railways is not checking for the tickets on many key lines. There is already a huge rush; people are fighting to even stand inside the train. In such a situation, it is impossible to check if people in general class have booked a ticket or not. This figure of UTS ticket is reflective, but the actual crowd could have been much more,” said another Railways official.

The official said the incident could have been averted if the railway administration would have prepared itself taking a clue from more tickets being booked through UTS between these two crucial hours.

“The station master takes a call on rerouting trains. In yesterday’s incident, the announcement of the special train for the Prayagraj was crucial. Initially, the Kumbh passengers tried to board the Shiv Ganga Express, which was scheduled to leave platform no. 12 at 8.05 pm. But many could not get in and they kept waiting at the same platform. On the other side, at platform no. 14, the general class passengers were boarding the Magadh Express, which was scheduled to leave at 9.05 pm. But here, too, all the passengers could not get in,” said a senior official of the Ministry.

He said that a special train was announced at 8.50 pm for platform no. 12, while keeping in mind that the Prayagraj passengers of the Shiv Ganga Express were waiting there.

“There is no clear answer on how the incident could have been averted. However, if a special train could have been called on platform 14 or 15 after the trains there departed, this would perhaps not have happened as the remaining passengers, who intended to board Magadh Express, could have boarded the special train on the same platform,” said the official.

The officials also said that an appropriate number of personnel at the platform and a clear announcement for the passengers could have averted such a large-scale tragedy. There were around 60 personnel of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and 20 Delhi Police personnel deployed at 16 platforms of the New Delhi Railway station at the time of the stampede.

“These officers were on their regular duties on Saturday,” a Delhi police officer said. The officer said the Railways shared no alert with them about the swelling crowd.

In the past, stampedes in 2004 and 2010 occurred during festive seasons due to crowding at the station.

After these incidents, the government began deploying extra personnel during Holi, Diwali and Chhath Puja.

On Sunday, after the latest stampede, eight companies of paramilitary forces, including the Rapid Action Force, were deployed along with additional security personnel from the RPF and Delhi Police to manage the crowd until the conclusion of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
They were primarily deployed at platforms 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 — which trains heading to Prayagraj usually originate from.

“The deployment of RPF & GRP forces in New Delhi Railway Station has been increased. It has been decided that all special trains in the direction of Prayagraj will be run from platform number 16. Therefore all the passengers wanting to go to Prayagraj shall come and go from Ajmeri Gate side of the station. Indian Railways received more than 130 calls relating to yesterday’s unfortunate incident on Railways Helpline no 139 by 5 PM today,” said an official spokesperson of Ministry of Railways.

The Delhi Police have also called six inspectors who were earlier posted at the New Delhi Railway Station to manage the crowds going forward.