Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway KPS Malhotra told ANI, “Keeping in view the current scenario, if there is an increased footfall and extra trains need to be operated to cater to the increased footfall, we have intensified the arrangements – as far as the manpower and force is concerned…If the transition of individual to group, group to crowd and crowd to mob is avoided, such incidents can be averted to a large extent.”

He emphasised that such incidents can be averted if people follow acceptable social behaviour. “If people don’t rush unnecessarily, there won’t be a catastrophic effect where everyone rushes. If disciplined behaviour is followed, there is a great chance for such incidents to be averted. Everyone is a capable decision-maker. If you feel that the rush is increasing, halting at that time is better rather than boarding the train at that time.

A family from Bihar is mourning the tragic loss of three of its members who were among the 18 people killed in the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday evening.

The victims had travelled from Bihar to Delhi to attend the Maha Kumbh festival and were caught in the chaos that broke out at the station.

One of their relatives, Pramod Kumar, told ANI, “…They had gone to Delhi to take a dip during the Maha Kumbh. There was chaos at the New Delhi Railway Station. In the process, these people died. Three members were from my family. My brother’s mother-in-law, father-in-law and their daughter’s child.”

Amid chaos over the stampede at New Delhi railway station, which killed 18 people, including three children, security has been heightened at Lucknow railway station in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Government Railway Police SSP Prashant Kumar on Sunday said that they were coordinating with the railways and the local police to ensure smooth functioning as people continue to flock to the Lucknow railway station to visit the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj.

“Maha Kumbh has been organised here, and a large number of devotees are travelling here by railway… To ensure smooth functioning, we are constantly working in coordination with the railways and the local police. The devotees coming here are being provided with a safe environment based on the inputs we are getting from our people,” Mr Kumar told ANI.

Footwear, clothes and personal belongings of victims were strewn across platforms, escalators and the railway overbridge after a stampede late on Saturday caused as people jostled to board trains to Uttar Pradesh’s Maha Kumbh, where the Maha Kumbh is underway.

18 people, including 11 women and five children, were killed in a stampede at the station where a surge of crowd was witnessed as thousands shuttled between platforms to board trains going to Prayagraj.

After the stampede and rescue efforts at the station, visuals showed piles of clothes, shoes, water bottles, bags and other belongings of people scattered along the station premises. Staff was pressed into gathering them into bags and disposing them.

A day after the tragic stampede incident at New Delhi railway station, Northern Railway enforced a number of measures to avoid any such untoward incident in the days to come.

The Ministry of Railways has announced that all special trains in the direction of Prayagraj will be run from platform number 16.

“Therefore, all the passengers wanting to go to Prayagraj shall come & go from Ajmeri Gate side of New Delhi railway station. Regular trains will continue to be operated from all platforms as the regular practice is. This is a step in the direction of avoiding peak hour rush getting accumulated in one platform,” the Ministry said in an official statement.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday expressed grief over the deaths in a stampede at New Delhi railway station, and announced ex gratia for the next of kin of the deceased hailing from the eastern state.

“The CM has expressed condolences over the casualties in the stampede at the New Delhi railway station. He is deeply saddened by the deaths of Bihar natives in the incident, and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the immediate family members of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 for those who are injured,” a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said.

The railway ministry said on Sunday that several measures have been enforced to avoid any such untoward incident in the future.

“It has been decided that all special trains in the direction of Prayagraj will be run from platform number 16. Therefore, all the passengers wanting to go to Prayagraj shall come and go from the Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi railway station,” a press statement issued by the ministry said.

It added that regular trains will continue to be operated from all platforms as usual. “This is a step in the direction of avoiding peak-hour rush getting accumulated in one platform,” it said.

Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj and neighbouring cities continued to face massive traffic over the weekend as thousands of vehicles moved towards the city for the ongoing Maha Kumbh, which has attracted more than 50 crore devotees since it began last month.

The congestion in the city was seen near Balsan, Bairhana, Sobtiabagh and Darbhanga. A 15-minute journey is taking residents nearly three hours.

The number of Maha Kumbh-bound vehicles in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa, which borders Prayagraj, has also increased in the past 24 hours.

Grieving relatives of Poonam Devi, a woman from Bihar’s Chapra who died in New Delhi railway station stampede, outside the mortuary at the LNJP Hospital, in New Delhi on Sunday.

The distraught family members of those missing since the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station frantically searched for their loved ones on Sunday, running from one hospital to another, carrying their photos and not knowing what to do.

Many said the hospitals did not allow them to search for their missing family members among the patients admitted there, turning their hopes into despair.

Outside the LNJP hospital, Bhola Sah showed a photo of his wife, Meena, on his mobile phone. She has been untraceable since the stampede.

“She is missing since yesterday evening after she went to the railway station to board a train to Prayagraj to attend the Maha Kumbh. She did not have any ticket. Her 4-5 companions are also untraceable and their mobile numbers are not connecting,” Sah said.

“Hospital officials told me there are no bodies of the stampede victims as all bodies have been taken away by their relatives,” he said.

A man tries to board his child through a window of an overcrowded train, at the New Delhi railway station, on Sunday.

With the death count in the overnight stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station climbing to 18 on Sunday, porters recounted their harrowing experience of carrying bodies on handcarts amid the chaos.

Describing the situation, Krishna Kumar Jogi, a porter at the station, said the crowd swelled when a train bound for Prayagraj arrived.

“A massive crowd gathered on the (footover) bridge. People were packed so tightly that many suffocated. Around 10-15 people lost their lives right there,” he claimed.

“I witnessed the entire incident. We carried dead bodies from platform numbers 14 and 15 to the ambulance,” he added.

A day after a deadly stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station claimed 18 lives, the station remained overcrowded on Sunday, with thousands of passengers struggling to board trains amid heavy rush.

Despite additional measures, the influx of passengers — several of them Maha Kumbh pilgrims travelling to Prayagraj — has continued with the sheer volume of travellers making the situation difficult to handle for authorities.

“Even after what happened, the situation is the same. We are trying our best, but the number of people is too high,” said an RPF officer stationed at platform 16.

With general tickets being issued at an estimated rate of 1,500 per hour, the passenger surge continues to strain resources.

Prayagraj special trains are departing at more than double their capacity, with people clinging to doors, stuffing themselves into packed compartments, and even climbing through train windows in desperation.