"No agarbatti lighting": Railways issues travel advisory to passengers travelling in Sabarimala Special Trains

Hyderabad: South Central Railway (SCR) has issued a travel advisory to the passengers travelling in the special trains to Sabrimala by advising them that burning camphor and lighting of incense sticks in trains and Railway premises is strictly prohibited.

SCR in a release on Wednesday said it is operating Sabarimala Special Trains for the benefit of all pilgrim passengers from December 16.

These special trains will start from various stations spread over the Zone – like Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Kacheguda, Kakinada, Tirupati, Nanded and will be stop at several stations enroute.

In this regard, Railways earnestly solicits the cooperation of Rail passengers in making the train journey safer.

The passengers are advised to desist from performing of Aarti as part of Puja by burning camphor and lighting of match sticks / incense sticks etc. inside the coaches of trains, since carrying fire, inciting / inflammable materials and lighting up fire in any form in trains or other Railway premises is strictly prohibited.

Such acts pose grave threat to safety and may result in fire hazards endangering human lives and railway property also.

These activities constitute a punishable offence under section 67, 154, 164, and 165 of The Railways Act-1989, for which the offender is liable to be punished with an imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine of Rs 1000 or both, besides being liable for the loss / injury or damage caused.

In addition, all the Rail Passengers are advised to strictly follow all COVID protocol (like compulsorily wearing face masks, avoiding unnecessary crowding while at the stations and during the Train travel for the safety of all passengers.

Intensive checks are being conducted on SCR by personnel of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Commercial branches to prevent such practices in the interest of safety, the advisory added. (UNI)