Ghaziabad: The festive rush on account of Eid-e-Milad and Raksha Bandhan choked Ghaziabad railway station and the bus terminals, with footfall rising to almost double the daily average.The crowding revived memories of the crush at New Delhi Railway Station on Feb 15 last year when a wave of pilgrims tried to board trains bound for Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, leaving at least 18 people dead. A subsequent inquiry found that the station held far more people than it was built to handle, a situation worsened by the continuous sale of unreserved tickets.Since Wednesday, Ghaziabad railway station, which sees an average daily footfall of 50,000 passengers, has also recorded over one lakh passengers. The overcrowding has been compounded by the lack of a passenger retention and crowd-holding area at the station, even as its expansion plans have remained in the pipeline for years.Ram Vilas, who was trying to catch a train at the station on Thursday, told TOI, “There was such a rush that it was impossible to buy a ticket from the counter where people are falling on each other. I tried to get one but failed and I was left with no other option but board the train without a ticket.”The station, spread across 1.5 lakh sqm, is one of 508 stations across the country being redeveloped under the central govt’s Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The revamp began in January 2023 with a completion timeline of 30 months, but over three years later, only around 40% of the work has been completed.Officials said that civil work related to the quarter building and station entry has started, but work on the concourse is yet to begin.According to the plan, the single-storey building will be converted into a three-storey complex equipped with foot overbridges, escalators, automatic ticket vending machines and multilevel parking. The redevelopment project, which is estimated to cost Rs 350 crore, is important for the timely decongestion of railway stations in Delhi.A 24-km skywalk will integrate the six existing platforms, and two foot overbridges with ramps will be constructed to provide hassle-free commuting. Multilevel parking and a dedicated lane within the station premises will come up for e-buses. Additionally, a Signal Training school and 96 railway quarters will also come up here.At UPSRTC’s Kaushambi bus depot, meanwhile, footfall in the last two days was recorded at around 2.5 lakh. The number of buses operating out of the terminal rose starkly from the average 800 to around 1,200 over the last two days.“This is mostly on account of the state govt announcing free bus service for women passengers which includes one attendant and commuters is availing the facility which led to an unprecedented increase in the footfall,” said Kesari Nandan, regional manager, UPSRTC. “We are also already running additional bus services on various routes which include western, eastern and central UP districts.”The free service can be availed from 6am on Thursday till midnight on Saturday.Puja Kumari, who was headed to Aligarh on Thursday, said, “I had a tough time just reaching the Kaushambi depot through the skywalk. The crowd was crushing and even after reaching bus depot there was little respite as there were no place to even sit. Waterlogging has also made matters worse. Everyone tried to get under shelter which was cramped for space.”Modernisation of the three bus depots managed by UPSRTC – Old Bus Adda, Kaushambi and Sahibabad – was announced in 2022, with a deadline of 24 months. However, revamp work has only begun at Old Bus Adda, while Kaushambi and Sahibabad depots have seen no progress on the ground.An official attributed delays to issues arising from incorporating the transit-oriented development (TOD) policy at the two depots, which come under the rapid rail influence zone. The official said that GDA and NCRTC have not been able to reach a consensus over the FAR.A 24,284 sqm land parcel at Kaushambi bus depot is set to be developed at a cost of Rs 261 crore. Sahibabad, with an area of around 15,000 sqm, will be revamped at a cost of Rs 161 crore. Work on Old Bus Adda, spread across 10,000 sqm, is set to cost Rs 62 crore.Under the state govt’s modernisation plan, a total of 23 bus depots are set to be revamped.
