Ratnagiri stations packed as Konkan festival crowds head back to Mumbai, Pune

After bidding farewell to Ganpati Bappa, the return journey from Konkan to Mumbai, Thane and Pune has begun. Having celebrated this year's Ganeshotsav, around six lakh Ganesh devotees from Ratnagiri district have already started heading back via Konkan Railway and state transport buses. As a result, all major Konkan Railway stations are seeing unprecedented crowds, with every train packed and stations in a state of rush.

Hundreds of state transport buses and private buses have also left for Mumbai. Every year, lakhs of devotees travel to Konkan for the festival of Ganpati Bappa, considered the region's presiding deity. The Konkan Railway administration, along with Central and Western Railway, had run 360 special trips for the onward journey, through which more than six lakh devotees reached Konkan along with those who travelled by bus. Given the rush from Mumbaikars, four additional railway trips were added until September 17 for the Gauri festival.

The return journey has now begun. Bappa's arrival was on September 14. Those observing a one-and-a-half-day Ganpati immersed their idols on September 15, and the return rush started immediately after. From September 16, crowds on trains leaving Konkan began rising further. After the immersion of five-day Ganpatis on Friday and six-day Ganpatis on Saturday, the pressure of crowds increased further. It is being said that this rush will continue until Monday, September 20. Crowds are also expected to continue further because of those observing Ganpati until Anant Chaturdashi on Friday, September 25.

The Konkan Railway administration has made clear that there will be a heavy rush of returning passengers between September 26 and 27. The railway administration says it is prepared to provide safe and smooth travel to passengers throughout this period. To manage the heavy rush of the "chakarmani" class of commuters returning to the city for work, the Konkan Railway administration has run 182 special trains for the return journey.

All trains departing from key stations such as Ratnagiri, Chiplun, Sangameshwar and Rajapur Road are running completely full. Security agencies and railway police have been deployed round the clock at every station to control the crowds. The Railway Protection Force is exercising special vigilance to prevent theft incidents that could take advantage of the crowds. Tight arrangements have been made to protect passengers' belongings and jewellery.