Guwahati, Feb 21 : Over four lakh devotees took part in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj travelling from Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) jurisdiction, officials said on Friday.

NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the NFR has implemented several initiatives to facilitate the travel of pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. 'With over four lakh devotees already travelling from the NFR's jurisdiction, additional measures have been put in place to enhance comfort and efficiency,' he told the media.

The CPRO said that the railway has focused on increasing security and commercial staff, strengthening safety and improving operations to ensure a smooth and hassle-free journey for the devotees. During the Maha Kumbh, nearly 50 crore pilgrims from across the country have travelled on around 13,000 trains operated by Indian Railways, Sharma said.

He said that to manage the increased passenger rush, NFR has been operating seven to eight regular trains along with special trains for Maha Kumbh. A total of 26 trips of special trains have been operated so far from Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh), Kamakhya, Guwahat and Rangapara (all in Assam) and Katihar and Jogbani in Bihar. The official said that anticipating the surge in passengers, NFR has introduced these additional train services to ensure a smooth and hassle-free journey for the devotees. So far, around 3.37 lakh reserved passengers and 1.08 lakh unreserved passengers have travelled to Prayagraj on these trains. Among them, approximately 1.10 lakh passengers boarded from Guwahati, around 19,300 from Dibrugarh, nearly 54,100 from New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) and about 34,500 from Jogbani.

The CPRO said that for security and crowd management, NFR has deployed a strong team of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and sufficient running staff to ensure seamless train operations. Control rooms have been set up at major railway stations and divisions for real-time monitoring and efficient crowd management.

Additionally, CCTV surveillance has been enhanced across key locations to ensure round-the-clock monitoring and additional personnel have been stationed at entry and exit points to regulate passenger movement. Special arrangements have been made for elderly passengers, women and children to ensure their safety and convenience.

With thousands of devotees arriving daily, these extensive measures highlight NFR's dedication to ensuring a safe, secure, comfortable and efficiently managed pilgrimage experience throughout this grand spiritual event, the NFR official said. The NFR operates in the northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar.

/IANS