Panel finds issues with security system at Ngp divn railway stations

Nagpur: The three-member passengers’ amenities committee (PAC) of the Railway Board, which is on a tour of the Nagpur division, has identified problems in the security system at the railway stations.

The team comprising Abhijeet Das, Vibhashwini Awasthi and Kailash Verma is on a five-day inspection visit of railway stations under the Nagpur division of South East Central Railway (SECR) and Central Railway.

The PAC started its tour on January 9 with inspection of Nagpur and Wardha stations. On January 10, the team visited Itwari, Bhandara and Tumsar railway stations while on Wednesday it went to Chhindwara and Seoni stations.

According to sources, the PAC spotted there are no baggage scanners and few areas are covered under the CCTV surveillance system at these stations.

Verma told TOI that at Nagpur they found baggage scanners were lacking at places from where passengers enter the station. “Besides, there are vulnerable spots like the escalators that are still not covered by CCTV cameras,” said Verma.

According to Verma, though the face of Nagpur station will change as it is being redeveloped by the Railway Land Development Authority, currently focus is needed on better amenities on platforms 4 to 7 and also the home platform.

“We have received a memorandum from former mayor Dayashankar Tiwari and ZRUCC member Brij Bhushan Shukla and others for a skywalk at the east side connecting the Metro station. They also wanted change in timings of Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express to boost capacity,” said Verma.

At Wardha, the PAC wanted the issue of the lift to be resolved. The PAC inspected all amenities including toilet and drinking water kiosks, ticket counters, waiting rooms and other facilities. “We found that toilets for divyangs on platforms were closed,” Verma said.

The PAC also wanted improvement in security system at Itwari, Bhandara and Tumsar stations. The committee pointed out to senior railway officials several issues related to amenities. The members also talked to passengers for their feedback.

On Thursday, the PAC will visit Chandrapur and Ballarshah stations. On Friday, the members will apprise the DRMs of the findings during their visit. The team will submit report to the Railway Board on January 27.


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