Festive crowds set records 

October 24, 2025

Abhishek Vij

In our country, religion and faith are places of devotion for the common people. From Navratri to Diwali and the New Year, people celebrate all festivals. The crowds are deeply devoted to their faith. This year, similar scenes were witnessed. Diwali has passed, Bhaiya Dooj has arrived. Christmas and New Year will follow. It seems the people of the country will continue to break record after record as they celebrate these festivals. Just look at the markets: last year, Diwali sales totaled Rs 4.25 lakh crore. This year, the country has achieved a record Rs 6.05 lakh crore in Diwali sales.

Of this, Rs 5.40 lakh crore went towards product sales, while Rs 65,000 crore came from the service sector. This means that we have resorted to resort halls, hotels, and other services to celebrate the festival. Of course, the reduction in GST rates has also stimulated consumer demand. The entire country has participated in this increased demand, not just in metropolitan cities but also in small villages and towns. Forget about recession, these broad markets invite progress and more investment. Whether these investments are made by domestic or foreign investors, the Sensex also supports this, having shown a consistent rise these days.

Now, the days of Chhath Puja, a celebration of northern Indian culture, have arrived. During this time, migrants from different parts of the country return to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They observe fasts and take a holy bath for Chhath Puja. Most of these passengers travel via Indian Railways, and festive crowd figures show that 10 million passengers have traveled in the last 20 days. 7,800 more trains are being run for these passengers.

Approximately 1.2 million railway employees are working around the clock to ensure the safe arrival of passengers to their destinations. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav stated that 4.25 lakh passengers are traveling daily outside the Delhi region alone. Between October 16th and 20th alone, 21.04 lakh passengers traveled from the Delhi region, compared to 19.71 lakh last year. This means an increase of 1.33 lakh pilgrims was recorded this time. It’s clear that there is such a surge of religious pilgrimage in our country that the number of pilgrims is increasing every year. The concern is whether we are managing the accommodation and lodging for these pilgrims better. The answer is no. Whether it’s the Char Dham Yatra, the Vaishno Devi Yatra, or the Amarnath Yatra in Uttarakhand, there’s been no decrease in the number of religious pilgrims.

But facilities for them haven’t increased. Even safety measures against uncertain weather haven’t been adopted. If people endure so much hardship and still don’t fail to visit the Lord’s doorstep, it’s the responsibility of the current governments to focus on increasing revenue from this religious tourism and mobilize more resources to meet the ever-growing number of pilgrims and the growing demands of festival lovers. The scale of accidents, loss of life, and disruptions during this year’s pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine has never happened before. Yet, people’s faith remains unshaken. Today, when we examine the statistics, we find that the importance of religious tourism in our country has never diminished. Therefore, attracting foreign tourists for religious tourism can generate valuable revenue.