Delhi Congress slams Centre, AAP govt over Chhath preparations

“The normal fare for the Delhi-Darbhanga train is Rs 535; the express special trains are charging Rs 1,865 per person. The AC three-tier fare has taken a quantum jump, from Rs 1,420 to Rs 5,165, which is beyond the affordability of the common people who constitute most of the Purvanchalis going home for the festival,” Azad said.

Newly elected state president Subhash Chopra and Azad have written to the Union Railway Minister demanding that special trains be deployed from various railway stations in Delhi, to Bihar and UP, without charging any fare.

The leaders also alleged the AAP government in Delhi has not taken initiatives to make preparations for Chhath Puja, such as cleaning ghats on the Yamuna, making arrangements for clean water and electricity, or providing amenities like bio-toilets.

An AAP leader, however, said: “The Delhi government has increased chhath ghats from 72 to 1,200. They have been spruced up with proper lighting, concretising. We have also declared a holiday on Chhath Puja.”

When contacted, Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railways, said: “We plan to run 92 trains and more than 1,000 trips from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Of these, around 70% of the trains are going towards Purvanchal. We are also attaching extra coaches in various trains to generate more capacity for people…”