New Delhi [India], October 11 (ANI): Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inspected the newly constructed holding areas and the changes made in the New Delhi Railway Station ahead of the yearly festival surge.

Talking about the new construction, the Union Minister said the ticketing counter has been improved, and the changes will be appropriately tested during the festival surge the station experiences every year. He also asked officials to have proper cybersecurity measures against the use of automated systems to book multiple tickets.

'There is a sudden surge every time during festivals at New Delhi Railway Station. For this, there was an experiment done two years ago about a temporary holding area. Now, a permanent holding area has been made for passengers who do not have a reserved ticket. It can be seen that the new ticketing counters are shifted here (holding area). When passengers come here, they will have a welcoming environment', Vaishnaw told mediapersons during his inspection.

'During the time of the upcoming festivals, the systems will be tested properly, and the learnings we get from this, we will also implement new facilities like that at other stations too', he said.

The Central government has also arranged a record number of special trains for Chhath and Diwali, with around 12000 set to run across the country.

'Overall, around 34,000 km of new rail tracks have been laid out, and the capacity of railways has really increased. Overall, from the 12000 trains, around 10,700 have already been notified and 150 rigs have been planned to give around 2000 services. This year, more than 12000 trains will be run across all corners of the country', he mentioned.

After inspecting the newly constructed holding area and the rail lines, Vaishnaw, who is also the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said that the account might have some offensive things, and that the parent company of Facebook, Meta, independently took action. Since then, the account of the SP chief has been restored.

'Facebook has taken action; the government has no role in this. There was a very abusive post on their account, which is why Facebook suspended the account according to their policy. There is no role of the government here', Vaishnaw said.

Earlier today, the SP said that their party's chief, Akhilesh Yadav's Facebook account has been suspended, and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is suppressing the opposition's voice.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Fakhrul Hasan Chaand shared a post on X, stating that the suspension of Yadav's account is an attack on democracy.

National Secretary of Samajwadi Party, Rajeev Rai, also condemned this act, saying it's a blow to India's democratic system.

Rai's X post read, 'Blocking the account of the leader of the third largest party in the country's parliament, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, @yadavakhilesh ji, by FACEBOOK is not only condemnable but also a blow to India's democratic system.' (ANI)