Indian Railways on Friday (June 28) announced plans to operate 315 special trains to and from Puri during the Ratha Jatra to facilitate pilgrims. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw conveyed this decision to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his deputies Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida during a meeting in New Delhi on Friday.
During the meeting, Vaishnaw outlined that the special trains will run from July 6 to July 19, covering most of Odisha. Additionally, the Ministry of Railways will arrange accommodation for 15,000 devotees in Puri during the festival.
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ECoR special trains stations and route
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) detailed that special trains are scheduled from various stations including Badampahad, Rourkela, Baleswar, Sonepur, Daspalla, Junagarh Road, Sambalpur, Kendujhargarh, Paradeep, Bhadrak, Angul, Gunupur, and Bangiriposi for the Gundicha Jatra and other rituals like Sandhya Darshan, Bahuda Jatra, Suna Vesha, and Adharapana of Ratha Jatra.
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East Coast Railway prepares for Ratha Jatra
ECoR General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal inspected the arrangements at Puri station to manage the rush during Ratha Jatra and directed to complete the preparations well in advance.
Meanwhile, the Odisha CM and his deputies, currently in New Delhi, also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and several Union ministers including Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Earlier, they had meetings with President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Nitin Gadkari.
The CM has extended invitations to these leaders to attend the Ratha Jatra celebrations scheduled for July 7 in Puri.
