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| Safety of Indian Railways raises |
| Millions of Indians trust the railways as they make journeys across the country.
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| INDIA
, 24-February-2007
2:43:54 AM |
| One of the biggest railway networks of the world, the Indian railways continues to be a soft target as one disaster strikes after the other and yet no lessons are learnt.
Several ambitious plans to revamp rail security remain trapped in files. Here are some shocking facts:
Even after the Mumbai serial blasts, out of the 100 suburban stations, 77 are not even guarded by a single policeman
CCTV coverage exists only in three per cent of the stations across India
Only six RPF personnel have been sanctioned to guard the Thar Express between Kakrapar and Munabao
Proposals to increase RPF manpower by 24,000, new scanning equipments and dog squads are still being discussed.
While the MHA claims that rail security is beyond its domain, the Railway says it cannot spend more on security as it is a commercial organisation.
"Present systems are so bad that we cannot meet the basic security requirements," said A K Suri, Former DG, RPF.
Lack of coordination between the Railway Security Force and the General Protection Force of the states adds to the confusion.
So even though the railways have posted huge profits over the last few years, security remains way below international standards.
"Platforms are monitored 24 hours through CCTV's sniffer dogs and physical patrolling is always there. The platforms cannot be accessed by all," said A K Suri, Former DG, RPF.
But Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav thinks otherwise.
"The Railway Security Force has done a good job. There are however some problems," he said.
While the railways have emerged as softest target, the Union Home and Railway Ministers are bogged down by financial considerations, even though the human cost has been rising.
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