Swamis for more trains to Sabarimala

Hyderabad: Even though the South Central Railway is operating 128 special trains to Sabarimala from various destinations in Andhra Pradesh, many pilgrims bound to the holy place have not got their ticket confirmed despite booking them a month in advance.

“I and over 21 other swamis in our group booked tickets for Hyderabad-Kollam Sabarimala special trains on November 5 to travel on January 6. However, till now only five of us have got confirmations and the rest of us are in waiting list between 180-250,” said Srinivas Yadav, a Ayyappa devotee boarding the train on January 6.

Another devotee Madhu Yadav, told this newspaper:?“I and my fellow swamis had waited at the Secunderabad booking counter since the midnight. In spite of that, only the first six in the queue got confirmation. Even in special Sabarimala trains, the ticket status is shown as waiting list.”

Pilgrims are facing a tough time as they are forced to travel in general bogies. “Majority of us depend on trains to reach Sabarimala. To make sure we get confirmed tickets for the long journey, we book tickets in advance.

However, our tickets are still in the waiting list,” said Vamshidhar A., whose journey to the shrine in Kerala is scheduled for January 8. Some pilgrims sought preference for those who booked their tickets in advance when compared to those who booked under the tatkal system.

“In Tatkal service we get tickets by paying an additional Rs 150. Why can’t those tickets be given to those who booked in advance,” asked an upset devotee Rajeshwar Singh.

Some of the devotees are demanding that more bogies be added to the Sabarimala-bound trains. Shakeel Ahamed, PRO, SCR, said, “We are running over 100 special trains to Sabarimala from AP and constantly monitoring the gap.”