A massive rush of people heading home for Diwali led to severe overcrowding at Gurugram’s railway and metro stations on Saturday, with packed trains, long queues at bus terminals and many passengers turning to informal transport to reach their destinations.
Trains bound for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal were so overcrowded that there was no standing room available, according to an official.
Passengers faced significant challenges boarding the general compartments, with many even squeezing into sleeper coaches. In their desperation to get home, some passengers resorted to travelling while hanging onto the carriage doors.
The situation sometimes escalated to physical altercations among passengers, the official added.
Throughout the day, teams from the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force conducted security checks on the platforms and worked to manage the crowds. Four trains passed through Gurugram on Saturday, heading toward Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, and Tanakpur.
According to a GRP official, the Bhuj-Bareilly, Udaipur-New Jalpaiguri, Porbandar-Muzaffarpur, and Durai-Tanakpur express trains were filled to capacity. Many passengers had to travel while standing at the doorways as there was no room to step inside these trains.
Metro stations also experienced large crowds as people travelled home for Diwali.
A significant number of passengers were unable to secure reservations, which forced them to rely on unregulated informal transport. Due to extreme overcrowding on trains, many opted for these informal vehicles instead.
Long queues of passengers lined up outside bus terminals and railway stations, with many travellers even forced to ride in trucks along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway to reach their homes.
