Title - State railway police understaffed, overworked

The acute staff shortage in the state Government Railway Police (GRP) is taking a heavy toll on the patrolling of trains, railway property and detection of crimes. A proposal has been submitted to the Railway Board, Delhi, seeking appointment of more policemen, besides other measures.
The current strength of 900 staff members has remained constant since 1981. This, even as the average number of passengers a day has increased from 1.74 lakh (1981) to 4.17 lakh (2011).
The numbers of trains in 2003 were 257, but now it is 529. In the same period number of railway station increased from 322 to 363 and platforms increased from 423 to 1,089.
The proposal submitted to the Railway Board, Delhi, on July 6 through DG&IGP and state chief secretary mooted that the strength of the sanctioned staff be increased to 1,500. It sought an addition of 16 sub-inspectors, 81 assistant sub-inspectors, 156 head constables and 604 constables.
The proposal pointed out that the state GRP has one constable for 4.27 km of railway track. They have to guard 3,782 km length of railway tracks. Their staff strength is less when compared with GRP staff strength in other states. Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has one constable for 1.98 km; Kerala has one for 2.1 km and Tamil Nadu has one for 2.6 km.
Owing to the heavy work pressure, the crime detection has drastically come down. In 1997, the level of crime detection was 17.69%, but in 2011, it is down to 7.41%. In 1997, 406 criminal cases were registered, whereas in 2011, it increased to 672. The GRP has been ineffective in preventing many property offences and other crimes in the trains, along tracks and railway stations.
The proposal observed that railway stations have become a den of wandering mendicants, beggars, destitute persons, prostitutes, eunuchs, anti-social elements and ragpickers. The presence of such people creates fear in the minds of public, especially women and children, it add ed.
Law and order issues such as bandhs, strikes, rail-rokos cause inconvenience to the travelling public. Due to lack of GRP staff, they are not able to effectively intervene and prevent such incidents. These activities throw railways' schedule out of gear and adversely affect revenue, the proposal noted.