Key Points
Porters saved multiple lives during deadly New Delhi Railway Station stampede
Rahul Gandhi met with porters to acknowledge their heroism
Congress leader calls for improved passenger safety infrastructure
Tragedy occurred during Maha Kumbh 2025 festival travel rush
The stampede occurred at the New Delhi Railway Station on February 15, which claimed the lives of 18 people. The tragedy occurred at 10 p.m. as lakhs of devotees were heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival, causing significant overcrowding at the station.
Taking to the social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi stated, "Often it is in the darkest times that the light of humanity shines the brightest."
"During the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, the porter brothers set an example of humanity and saved the lives of many passengers. For this, I thanked them today on behalf of the countrymen," he added.
Furthermore, the Congress leader stressed the need to take lessons from the incident and affirmed that the government takes "concrete steps" to ensure safety of passengers.
"But it is important to learn from such accidents. These can be prevented by crowd control, use of modern technology, better infrastructure and strengthening emergency systems. It is hoped that the government will take concrete steps in this direction so that passengers of every class can travel safely," he stated.
During his interaction of around 40 minutes, the Rae Bareli MP listened to the problems faced by the porters.
Dipesh Meena, a porter at the New Delhi Railway Station, explained his experience meeting Rahul Gandhi and said that he believes the Congress MP will solve their problems.
"We are happy that Rahul Gandhi came to meet us. He listened to all our problems, and we hope that he will solve them. He stayed here for about 40 minutes and listened to us," porter Dipesh Meena told ANI after Rahul Gandhi's visit to New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday.
Another porter said he was happy to meet Rahul and expressed his hope that the Congress MP would solve all the problems.
"Rahul Gandhi stayed here for 40 minutes. We told him all our demands, including Group D and medical facilities. We are happy that he came here", the porter said.
