Kanwariyas at Patna Junction. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Passengers at Patna Junction are facing a harrowing time these days because of kanwariyas on their way to Deoghar using the licence of pilgrimage to do as they please.

Every year, thousands of kanwariyas travel to Deoghar in Jharkhand during the month of Shravan to pray at the Baidyanath temple. By train, it is only a four-hour journey from Patna.

But large groups of devotees on their way to Jharkhand are causing inconvenience to other passengers by dirtying the station, unrightfully occupying the waiting rooms and seats on the platform or in trains and bullying all and sundry.

While the passengers suffer, the railway authorities plead helplessness to rein in the rowdy pilgrims.

On Thursday, The Telegraph visited Patna Junction and witnessed the suffering of other passengers.

A family of four, including two children, were waiting for the Delhi-bound 12367 Vikramshila Express on platform number 1. Around 1.30pm, a group of 30 kanwariyas approached the bench where Kankerbagh resident Nilesh Kumar and his family was sitting and demanded that they be allowed to occupy it.

Nilesh did not challenge the kanwariyas but moved away to a different bench.

“There is no point in quarrelling with them. They think they can do anything because they are on a pilgrimage,” said Nilesh.

He added: “Earlier, the devotees used to be very polite. But those days are gone. Now, they travel for fun and we suffer.”

Other passengers complained that the kanwariyas not only bully people at the station but also in the waiting rooms and reserved compartments of trains. Wherever they go, they leave behind a trail of litter and rubbish — wrappers of food, paper and leftover eatables.

As the duration of the journey is quite short, most of them travel without tickets. But they board reserved compartments and cause inconvenience passengers travelling with tickets.

On Thursday, a horde of kanwariyas boarded the Calcutta-bound 12317 Akal Takht Express from Patna Junction.

With strength in numbers, they occupied the seats in the train while genuine passengers had to keep standing or share seats with other passengers.

A passenger on the train, who did not want to be named, said: “There should be some strict law to check them (the kanwariyas). It is good that they are going on pilgrimage but they should not be allowed to do this. It is unacceptable.”

He added that the railway should fine unruly pilgrims.

Railway officials, however, pleaded helplessness. “The kanwariyas always travel in large groups. Trying to convince them is only inviting trouble,” said Raju Kumar, the stationmaster of Patna Junction.

He added: “Around this time (Shravan), kanwariyas do a lot of things that are not allowed on station premises but it is impossible to check them.”

Raju said Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force personnel were always there to help passengers.

The kanwariyas, however, are nonchalant about the trouble they cause.

“This is the pious month of Shravan. The passengers should co-operate with us instead of complaining. We are not committing any crime, we only expect other passengers to adjust a little,” said Ravi Tripathi, a young kanwariya from Patna.