By IANS,
Howrah (West Bengal) : The Indian Railways will run 66 pairs of special trains carrying pilgrims to Puri in Orissa for the June 24 Rathyatra festival, railways minister Mamata Banerjee said here Sunday.
The railways will also run special trains between Sealdah in Kolkata and Rajasthan’s Ajmer Sharif, which houses the mausoleum of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, on June 25 and June 26 for the celebration of the Urs or annual pilgrimage.
“People are greatly inconvenienced as they do not get railway reservation for visiting these places on such occasions. The trains to Ajmer Sharif will benefit both Indians and Bangladeshis who want to go for pilgrimage at this time of the year,” Banerjee said at a function in Howrah station.
Millions of devotees gather in the temple town of Puri for the weeklong rathyatra or the annual chariot festival.