A man sits on a bench near the station master’s office drinking beer and smoking beedi on platform 1. There is not a single police officer in sight and the man is not bothered by the presence of passengers. After finishing the drink, he gets up, leaves the empty bottle beside the stall, stubs out his cigarette and walks away.
This is not a shot from a film but what this reporter witnessed during a visit to Yeshwanthpur railway station. Yeshwanthpur is perhaps the only station in the city with proper ramps for the physically challenged. It is one of the few stations with water facilities. The station premises are clean too. But the empty beer bottle and the stubbed out cigarette show that one can still mess around a public facility that lacks officials to ensure its security.
The railway and state government authorities seem to be taking the security issue lightly. That explains the several unofficial exits and entrances to the station through which anti-social elements can gain access to commit their crimes and get away. Also, there are no luggage scanners in this station where more than 40 trains arrive on six platforms every day. Many trains originate from this station.
The State police posted at the station say there are too few personnel to ensure security on the six platforms round the clock. No wonder, chain-snatching and thefts are common occurrences here.In some months, as many as 10 chain-snatching cases are reported.
“There are some pockets in the station which can easily be accessed by anti-social elements. They use this to get in and get out without being caught,” said a constable who did not wish to be named. “Without adequate staff, we find it difficult to keep track of these vulnerable pockets,” he said.
A South Western Railway spokesman said that while luggage scanners are absent, there are adequate government railway police and railway police force to monitor activities in the station. “There are also CCTVs on all the platforms and these are monitored regularly,” he said.
The cleaning process at the station is mechanised and the place looks neat. However, the rail tracks, which have to be cleaned manually, looks dirty. Men engaged in cleaning up the tracks using water hoses wear uniform but they do not have masks to cover their faces, gloves to cover their hands or boots to protect their feet. “We have been provided with gloves. It is in our room. We just don’t wear it,”one of the sweepers said. He, however, said they do not have boots. A little ahead, women in oil-smeared uniform are engaged in removing stains stuck on the sides of the rail tracks. As they work silently with their backs bent, these women have nothing to shield themselves from the scorching sun. They are not provided with any protective gear.
“This is my first day at work. I don’t think I will even come tomorrow if I have to work like this,” said Nirmala, one of the workers.
Siddamma, who has been doing this work for almost a year, said: “We had asked for protective gear a few times and then we stopped asking.”
Railway officials at the station said they were not authorised to comment on this issue. AK Agarwal, divisional railway manager of the South Western Railway, said: “The contractors are supposed to give safety gear to the workers who have to pick up polythene covers and pet bottles that are thrown on the station. This has to be done manually,” he said. “With regard to safety equipment, we will ask the contractors to provide it,” he said.
