Amarnath pilgrims face problems at railway station

Pilgrims face problems at railway station
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 14
Although the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board is making every effort to provide all the facilities to pilgrims arriving here from various parts of the country for the Amarnath yatra, the Northern Railways authorities have not made sufficient arrangements to make the pilgrims’ stay comfortable at Jammu Tawi railway station.

A visit to the station revealed that due to the lack of proper sitting arrangements at the platform, hundreds of passengers were sitting on the floor.Most of the waiting halls were closed and those open were occupied.Toilets and bathrooms were stinking.

Several pilgrims expressed their resentment against the authorities. “Despite knowing that the rush of pilgrims increases in the summer, the authorities have not made any additional arrangements, which is causing inconvenience to pilgrims who have come here from far-off places,” said Bhushan Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad.

Nitin Goyal, a pilgrim from New Delhi, said:”With the rise in the number of pilgrims, their problems have also increased, but the authorities have not made any special arrangements. The situation was the same last year.”

However, the railway authorities claimed that there was no problem.

Ashwani Kumar, Station Superintendent, said: “The rush of passengers has increased and trains are running full. We are trying our best to provide maximum facilities to the passengers.”

Courtesy: The Tribune