Title - Puri Rath Yatra – ECoR gear up to tackle rush

Bhubaneswar: As the famous Rath Yatra of Puri Jagannath temple approaches, the top brass at the Railways, particularly those attached to the Bhubaneswar-based East Coast Railway (ECoR), start losing sleep as they will have to handle lakhs of people from all over the country.

The challenge is growing every year as the number of devotees keep rising. This year, the 10-day festival begins on July 10.

ECoR is known for its impressive record on the freight front. But during the 10 days when multitudes congregate in the small sea-side town of Puri for the chariot festival, it also has to gear up its machinery to handle other things.

Apart from the 82 special trains this year, in addition to the 25 regular trains to and from Puri and a large number of booking counters, information centres and help desks at Puri and at many stations en route, the Railways will provide food stalls, sanitation and drinking facilities, medical assistance and security.

Railway engineers are also on alert to assist the Jagannath temple authorities in the unlikely event of a technical snag in the chariot.

As the Railways works in close co-operation with the local administration, ECoR also has to mobilise several hundreds of staff belonging to different categories from various divisions to handle the gigantic task.