ProUI

Its unclean premises and the apathetic attitude of railway authorities is robbing Old Delhi Railway Station of its heritage character

If you ask me, I would give two on a ten-point scale to this station considering the unhygienic condition here, said Chirag, who had just arrived by the Jammutavi-Delhi-Jaisalmer Express at the Old Delhi Railway Station. This one-and-a-half-century-old station, a part of the Delhi’s cultural heritage, is fast losing its attraction among travellers due to its deplorable condition.The oldest station in Delhi, it was established in 1864 when trains from Howrah started operating up to Delhi. The station is also known as Delhi Junction. The colonial government constructed the present station building in red stone to give it the effect of the nearby Red Fort. The station was opened to public in 1903.Starting out with two platforms and a handful of passengers, the station now handles lakhs of passengers and nearly 200 trains daily. The station was re-modelled in 1934-35 after the opening of the New Delhi Railway Station in 1926 and the inauguration of New Delhi in 1931. Since 1935, the station building was renovated again only last year.But the scenes at the station, even after renovation, hardly evoke positive feelings. Even before one enters the station, the stench of urine punches ones senses. The boundary wall has become a public lavatory with the authorities turning a blind eye to the situation.Vehicles can be seen entering the no-entry zone. The main entrance gate stands in a mess with sewer water and waste being collected there. Passengers themselves have added to the woes by littering the area — heightening the fear of spread of diseases. Again, the accumulated stagnant water is a perfect breeding ground for malaria and dengue causing mosquitoes.According to rules, one has to buy a platform ticket to enter the station and luggage is allowed inside only after a thorough check by security personnel. Here, however, there are many loopholes through which people can enter the station premises unchecked, thus raising a question on the security system.On the way to platforms, one has to cross the over-bridge which is overcrowded with people sitting and some even sleeping there. The information boards on the over-bridge calls it a offence where one can be fined Rs. 200. But it seems that both the lawmakers and breakers are on equal ground as neither of them bother about this mismanagement.

On the steps descending to the platforms from the over-bridge, people with huge luggage occupy most of the space — leaving little space for others to negotiate the crowd. Same is the case on platforms, too. The situation becomes even more chaotic when a train arrives and passengers are in a hurry to either board it or get down.

The open sewer by the railway tracks in another eyesore; it appears that the sewers have not been cleaned for ages. These, again, serve as public lavatories for ignorant passengers. With this amount of littering and dirt, the number of railway cleaning staff appears insufficient to keep the premises clean.

Even the roof of the platform shade has not been spared. Plastic bottles, chips packets, broken biscuits and beverage cans are found thrown here and there, dirtying it and giving out a foul smell.

The only question that comes in mind after surveying the scenario is, what are the authorities doing?

The following level crossings will be closed for road traffic to facilitate safe working of Track Relaying Train. Level crossing Nos. 321 and 322 between Ponmalai and Tiruverumbur will be closed for road traffic on July 30 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Level crossing Nos. 323 and 324 between Ponmalai and Tiruverumbur will be closed for road traffic on July 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., a Southern Railway press release here said. — Staff Reporter

Members of the CPI, CPI (M) and YSR Congress joined the residents of Bhanunagar to stage a dharna at the colony on Saturday to protest against the fencing of a part of the residential area by the Railways.According to CPI leader Navaneetham Sambasiva Rao, the residents had been living in the colony since 1981 and even the district administration had promised to build the required infrastructure, but now Railways was pouring water over their dreams.According to the activists of the political parties, about 400 families had been living in about 100 houses on the land in question since last four decades.

The Railway police is organising a series of workshops for its personnel on identifying, rescuing and handling orphans and destitute children on trains.

A total of 35 railway police personnel from Egmore, Central and Chengalpet are undergoing the training, being held on five successive Saturdays. The resource personnel for the workshop are T. Tripurasundari of ‘Railway Children’, a United Kingdom-based organisation, and V.S. Valavan of Community Health Education Society.

GORAKHPUR: Under a massive environment protection drive undertaken by the North Eastern Railway, KKAtal, GM, NER, inaugurated a plantation programme by planting a sapling at Golf ground, Gorakhpur on Saturday.On the occasion, Atal said, "Trees are essential for life and without trees human would not exist on this beautiful planet. Due to the unprecedented cutting of trees, the whole ecological balance has been disturbed. We all should pledge to plant at least one tree in our life.""During this monsoon season, the plantation programme will be carried on the empty land of Railways," he added.OP Agarwal, princiapal chief engineer, RP Nibria, chief electrical engineer, Arvind Kumar, chief commercial engineer, Anil Sharma, chief mechanical engineer, HK Agarwal, chief signal and telecommunication engineer, PN Rai, SDGM, Bechu Rai, chief electrical engineer/head quarter, USS Yadav, chief track engineer, Alok Kumar Singh, CPRO, Amit Singh, secretary/GM, Sanjay Yadav, DGM/General and CM Chaudhary, dy chief engineer / Gorakhpur area also planted saplings on the occasion.

A Government Order may be issued next week allowing the city Corporation to redirect funds provided to it by the Suchitwa Mission to the platform construction work at the Kadakkavoor railway station. The funds were provided in the previous financial year for source-based waste management projects.The decision was made during a meeting held on Saturday attended by Local Self Government Department Secretary James Varghese and Mayor K. Chandrika.

Muttathara STP

Another meeting reviewed the developments related to the Muttathara Sewage Treatment Plant. A representative from a Pune-based company attended. The company has offered to set up a plant in five acres of land near the STP which will convert the sludge produced to biogas and then to CNG fuel. The company will submit a proposal based on a visit to the plant next week. Tenders have been floated for the construction of a compound wall around the plant, the final date for bids being August 8.

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Members of the CPI, CPI (M) and YSR Congress joined the residents of Bhanunagar to stage a dharna at the colony on Saturday to protest against the fencing of a part of the residential area by the Railways.According to CPI leader Navaneetham Sambasiva Rao, the residents had been living in the colony since 1981 and even the district administration had promised to build the required infrastructure, but now Railways was pouring water over their dreams.According to the activists of the political parties, about 400 families had been living in about 100 houses on the land in question since last four decades.

The ‘Science Express- Biodiversity Special’ (SEBS), an innovative mobile exhibition mounted on a specially-designed 16-coach AC train which has been on the move since April, will chug into the state on August 12. A unique collaborative initiative by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Department of Science & Technology and Indian Railways, the Science Express has contributed largely in creating awareness among the public on the rich biodiversity found in different geographical belts on the Indian sub-continent. Railway officials say the initiative gained prominence with the United Nations declaring the 2011-20 decade as the UN Decade on Biodiversity and UN Decade for Deserts and Fight against Desertification. “Eight coaches focus exclusively on exhibiting myriad biodiversity across the bio-geographical zones of the country through a variety of interactive exhibits, short films and videos displayed on plasma and LED TV screens, large format displays, kiosks and backlit panels,” a railway release has said.

नोवामुंडी इलाके में पिछले 24 घटे से हो रही मूसलाधार बारिश से समूचा जन-जीवन अस्त-व्यस्त हो गया है। शुक्रवार को आधी रात को आई बारिश से नोवामुंडी स्टेशन कॉलोनी जलमग्न हो गयी। रेलवे स्टेशन प्लेटफार्म की अप व डाउन लाइन यार्ड की पटरी के बीच पानी भर गया था। हालांकि रेल परिचालन में किसी तरह का कोई प्रभाव नहीं पड़ा। अप लाइन में पानी जमा रहने के कारण डाउन लाइन पर इंटर सिटी एक्सप्रेस, बड़बिल-हावड़ा सवारी गाड़ी व मालगाड़ी को छोड़ा गया। वहीं दूसरी ओर रेलवे कॉलोनी के 30 क्वार्टर के अलावा रनिंग रूम के कमरे के भीतर पानी घुस गया था। क्वार्टर में पानी प्रवेश करने से रेलवे कर्मचारी रात तीन बजे से बारिश में भींगकर अपने-अपने सामान को किसी तरह से सुरक्षित स्थल पर ले जाने में लगे थे। कुछ लोग टीवी, पुस्तक, कपड़े के अलावा आवश्यक कागजातों को पलंग व खटिया पर रखकर सुरक्षित कर लिया। परन्तु चावल, दाल व आटा आदि सामान को पानी में भींगने से बचाने में असमर्थ रहे। यह सिलसिला रात 4 बजे से शनिवार को पूर्वाह्न नौ बजे तक चला। रेलकर्मियों ने लगभग10 बजे पानी का बहाव कुछ कम होने के बाद राहत की सास ली। सभी के क्वार्टर में घुसे पानी की साफ-सफाई के बाद लगभग 12 बजे से क्वार्टर मे चूल्हा जलना शुरू हुआ। स्कूल में पढ़ने वाले एक भी छात्र स्कूल जाने में असमर्थ रहे।