RailEnquiry

CHENNAI: A regular commuter would have found Chennai Central unrecognisable on Saturday . There was no stench , damp floors or unsightly nightsoilon thetracks . Many visitors were shocked by the fragrance — from liberally sprinkled air fresheners .The reason became clear at 5.05 pm when an SUV rolledon to Platform 11 at 5.05pm and chief minister J Jayalalithaa stepped out — to flag off the airconditioned Chennai Central-Madurai Duronto (biweekly ) Express and the Chennai Central-Thiruvananthapuram Duronto (biweekly ) Express . The 30-minute stopover by the chief minister was all Southern Railway required to work magic ."If the authorities daily make half the efforts they took to make the station presentable for the CM's visit , Chennai Central will be clean ," said a security officer . Recently , TOI reported on the rare occasions that Chennai Central smells good—during the visits of VVIPs like the governor or the chief minister when the official convoy enters a platform . Even visits from the general manager or the railway divisional manager are considered important enough for suchtreatment .On Saturday , the preparations began early . Both tracks adjacent to Platform 11 were closed by 11am and the berthing of at least four trains on other platforms rescheduled . The tracks were sterilized , air fresheners sprayed and a red carpet spread on the otherwise filthy platform . Flower pots adornedthe paththechief minister's SUV was to take . A worker was spraying disinfectants on the track till a few minutesbeforetheCM's arrival . The tracks were cleared of night soil. Several state ministers , including transport minister V Senthil Balaji , and city mayor Saidai S Duraiswamy besides senior officials of Southern Railway andthecorporation were present .

"If the authorities can clean up this place for VVIP visits , why can't they do it for the thousands who visit the place every day ?" asked Rajalakshmi Venkataraman , who cametoseeoff her daughter in the Duronto Express to Madurai .