Centre says 23 railway property damage cases reported during Maha Kumbh, 11 arrested
Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the damage included broken doors and shattered window panes in train coaches.
The Centre on Friday informed Rajya Sabha that 23 incidents of damage to railway property were reported across various stations during the Maha Kumbh, resulting in a financial loss of around ₹3.13 lakh.
In a written response to DMK MP Kanimozhi, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the damage included broken doors and shattered window panes in train coaches. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested 11 individuals in connection with these incidents.
Outlining the security measures implemented to maintain order during the Hindu religious gathering, Vaishnaw said at Prayagraj railway station, 1,200 CCTV cameras, including 116 equipped with facial recognition technology, were installed to monitor potential troublemakers.
Additionally, 15,000 personnel from the RPF and the Government Railway Police (GRP) were deployed across Prayagraj’s railway network, with additional forces stationed at key transit points such as Ayodhya, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Patna stations to facilitate passenger movement and train operations.
Responding to a question of compensation provided to affected passengers, Vaishnaw referred to the February 15 stampede at New Delhi Railway Station and said that ₹2.01 crore in ex-gratia payments had been disbursed to 33 victims or their families.
The minister also detailed a 10-point strategy adopted to manage heavy passenger influx at certain railway stations, including the establishment of holding areas, access control measures, wider foot-over bridges, expanded CCTV coverage, creation of war rooms, deployment of advanced communication systems, introduction of standardised ID cards and uniforms for staff, elevation of the station director post and capacity-based ticket sales.
On March 12, Vaishnaw had informed the Lok Sabha that 22 trains sustained damages due to overcrowding during Maha Kumbh. Each special train accommodated around 3,000 passengers and five such trains were deployed to handle an additional 15,000 commuters, he said.
Between January 13 and the conclusion of Maha Kumbh, the railway department operated 13,667 trains to transport an estimated 120-150 million pilgrims. However, videos on social media showed chaotic scenes at railway stations in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where pilgrims were seen pelting stones and vandalising trains bound for Prayagraj.
In a separate response in the Lok Sabha on March 19, Vaishnaw revealed that over 7,900 incidents of stone-pelting on trains, including Vande Bharat Express, were reported nationwide since 2023, resulting in damages worth ₹5.79 crore. Additionally, 12 cases were registered in connection with vandalism in AC coaches in Bihar in February.
