Haridwar railway station decorated by Indian railways to welcome pilgrims for Kumbh Mela

As preparations are underway for the glorious Kumbh Mela to be held from April 1st to 30th in Haridwar, the Uttarakhand government has decided to limit the Kumbh this year to 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officers in charge of the Kumbh said that those who attend the religious congregation should do prior registration at a portal and should have a COVID-19 negative report. Kumbh is not only a religious pilgrimage, but one of the largest mass gatherings at one place. It is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years and spans four locations namely Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.

The Haridwar railway station has been decorated by the railways to welcome the pilgrims coming for the Kumbh Mela. The station has been beautified with things including various lightings, the idol of God Shiva and others. The pictures of the saints taking the holy dip are also portrayed on the walls of the station. Railway minister Piyush Goyal also tweeted pictures of the station welcoming pilgrims.

With passenger traffic at Haridwar station going up from March 11, the Northern Railways has built four different colour-coded enclosures for passengers to book tickets to various destinations. "We have put four colour-coded enclosures based on the passenger's destination at Haridwar station. We have made reserved ticket windows inside enclosures," said Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Northern Railway Uttarakhand.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, is running four pilgrim special trains from Rajkot in Gujarat. Rahul Himalayan, the group General Manager of IRCTC Western Zone, said: "All the four trains will commence from and terminate in Rajkot. Two pilgrim special trains also started in February.

"The Bharat Darshan trains started in March. "The Kumbh Haridwar Bharat Darshan Train, covering Mathura, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Amritsar and Vaishnodevi started from March 6 and will run till March 14. "While the South India Tour Bharat Darshan Train will cover Rameswaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Trivandrum, Guruvayur, Tirupati and Mysore from March 20 to March 31," added Himalayan. (Representative Image)