No seat reserved for Lord Shiva in Kashi Mahakal Express, says IRCTC

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has said that no seat has been reserved for Lord Shiva in the commercial run of the Kashi Mahakal Express, which is starting from February 20, news agency ANI has reported.

The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16 from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, with a seat dedicated to the deity. After that, it was reported that the seat will be reserved for Him. Seat number 64 in coach B5 was reserved and left vacant for the deity, Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar told news agency PTI.

It had also been reported that after embarking upon the novel idea, the Railways authorities are further mulling if they should make a reserved seat for the "Bhole Baba" a permanent feature of the train, which will connect three Jyotirlingas -- Omkareshwar near Indore, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi.

However, the IRCTC has said that the staff of the new train had temporarily put photos of Mahakaal (Lord Shiva) on an upper berth to do 'pooja' and seek blessings for the success of the new project. It is meant only for the inaugural run as a one-time affair, it said.

The national transporter launched its third IRCTC-operated service, the PSU's third corporate train, from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi to Indore in Madhya Pradesh and has named it Kashi Mahakal Express.