Title - Rly hygiene rules impractical: Officials

Rules framed by the railway ministry to ensure hygiene in and around station premises has received the cold shoulder as officials at Ernakulam south station feel they are impractical to implement.
    As per the new directive, a station master or a manager or an officer not below the rank of ticket collector or an official authorized by railways should collect a fine of Rs 500 from passengers who litter on the station. The ministry has also banned cooking, bathing, spitting, feeding animals or birds, repairing or washing vehicles, washing utensils or clothes or any other object or keeping any type of storage in any railway premises except in such facilities specifically provided for these purposes. The new rules also stipulate fines for those who paste or put up posters or write or draw anything on coaches or railway premises.
    “We have not fined anyone under the rule for throwing garbage. Implementing the rule in letter and spirit is a tough task. If we start doing so, we will have to fine each and every person as a majority of passengers prefer to throw waste on tracks. There is a need to create awareness about the rule before implementing it,” said a senior official with the railways.
    According to station authorities, almost 150 bags of waste are collected daily from railway tracks and station premises. Even though sufficient waste bins have been provided at all platforms, the majority of passengers prefer to throw it on railway tracks, said railway authorities. “If it has to be implemented in spirit, waste bins will have to be provided in all coaches as at present they are provided only in airconditioned coaches,” said an official. He added that they would scroll the new rules on televisions installed in stations to create awareness among passengers.