After all hell broke, more chaos before semblance of order

New Delhi: At 11:30pm Saturday, two hours following a

stampede

that claimed 18 lives, chaos persisted at

New Delhi Railway Station

. Near Platform 16, at Ajmeri Gate side, Vadanan's family stood disappointed: they were unable to board Purshottam Express despite having spent over Rs 10,000 through a broker for three AC compartment tickets.
"I was to go to Mirzapur. When we reached the platform, there was no space for even an ant to move. We thought it was better to come out of the station than attempt to board the train. The TTE told us that even if we entered the train, he couldn't guarantee that we would reach our seats," she said.
Many travellers, including non-Kumbh passengers, abandoned their journeys due to the overcrowded trains.
By 11:42pm, Platform 14, the site of the stampede, grew increasingly packed. A Kumbh Special train's arrival triggered another passenger surge. The limited police personnel struggled with

crowd management

. Elderly people, women, and children rushed towards the coaches, seeking seats. Police whistles proved ineffective as people continued advancing.

Vikrant Chaudhary, who witnessed the stampede earlier from the same platform, shared his experience: "It was around 8:30pm. My father was to go by Swatantra Senani, and we were heading towards Platform 13." He described how Platform 14 became severely crowded upon a train's arrival. The crowd movement trapped them, with nearly 50 people pressing against him.
"There were no police or NDRF personnel. People were shouting, they were pleading for water; two-three people died in front of me," he recounted. "I was telling my father to keep breathing," he added.
At Platform 16, Shalu Singh, said her family cancelled their Prayagraj journey after seeing the stampede. "There was a woman wearing a yellow-coloured sari. She told me she would not survive and was asking for help. We tried to hold her hand and pull her away, but we had to save ourselves also," she said. Pushpa Singh, standing nearby, claimed: "This incident happened as there was no police presence. Seeing people crying for help, we decided not to catch the train," she said.
By 12:10am, three hours post-incident, authorities implemented crowd control measures with enhanced police presence. They used ropes to maintain passenger distance from arriving trains. Witnesses suggested that earlier implementation of these safety measures could have prevented the tragedy.
Outside, Arvind Kumar from Jaitpur arrived at 9:50 following his mother's distress call about the stampede. "My cousin was to go to Madhubani for his marriage by Swatantra Senani Express. My mother was to go along. When I came here, I could only see slippers, jackets, and mufflers on the floor, which worried me. After one hour, I saw people from the administration entering the station," he stated. His mother, Usha Devi, described nearly fainting near Platform 14's staircase. "I somehow saved myself by moving to a corner. My nephew caught the train, but I could not as I was caught in the crowd," she said.
Pankaj Verma, intending to board Sampark Kranti an hour before the incident, cancelled his travel plans. "There was one policeman to manage such a huge crowd. I was to go to Jammu, but seeing the rush, I decided to cancel my plan," he said.