RailEnquiry

Tatanagar will become arguably the state's most caring railway station by early next fiscal, thanks to Rotary Club (Jamshedpur). According to a Rotary Club proposal submitted before railway authorities on Thursday, the social outfit plans to take over the station's existing facilitation centre (near Enquiry) and endow it with 10 wheelchairs, two stretchers and 30 trolleys, as well as a 24/7 helpline-cum-booking facility. On the ground, this translates to practical help for the disabled, the elderly, patients and even pregnant women passengers. Their family members will be able to call the helpline, state train timings and book porters and whatever infrastructure is required ' wheelchairs, stretchers or trolleys ' so that no time is wasted at the station. Rotary Club project disability in-charge Anita Gupta said The Telegraph report published on December 17 that highlighted the plight of the disabled and elderly in Tatanagar made them realise what needed to be done. "A project of this kind was on our agenda. But after going through the report, we decided to pursue it more earnestly. We wish the disabled, elderly, patients and pregnant ladies are saved from discomfort at Tatanagar. We submitted the proposal and are waiting for a nod from the railway authorities so that work starts," said the Rotarian, who is also the former principal of Jamshedpur Women's College and president of Association of British Scholars (city chapter). Senior divisional commercial manager (Chakradharpur division) K.N. Biswas, who received the proposal, will now forward it to divisional railway manager Rajiv Agarwal. Finally, Garden Reach headquarters of South Eastern Railway will give the final seal of approval for the work to start. The much-needed facility is likely to kick off by the start of 2013-14 fiscal. "A well-equipped facilitation centre with infrastructure, manpower and a helpline service will prove to be a boon to passengers in need of extra care," Biswas said. Rotary Club, which will fully sponsor the service, including infrastructure and salaries of three attendants working eight-hour shifts to man the 24/7 facilitation centre, had earlier donated two wheelchairs to Tatanagar. Tatanagar junction, Chakradharpur railway division's only A-category station, with 86 trains and 60,000-plus footfall a day, sees around 100 disabled passengers, according to conservative Zonal Railway Users' Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) estimates. Though not counted, the number of patients, elderly and pregnant women passengers will be higher. If only railway authorities wake up to get more ramps built. Tatanagar only has one ramp in platform No. 1, while the rest of the four don't have the facility. Whether Tatanagar gets 10 wheelchairs or 100, a person who needs to be taken to, say, platform No. 4, will face the same road bumps without a ramp in place.