As part of an intensive drive to ensure cleanliness on trains and station premises, Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has called for a sanitation strategy for immediate action. Some of the actionable items are creating awareness on the use of bio-toilets, washing of trains/ stations at night, disposal of garbage en route and at destination points and display of anti-littering rules.
Mr. Lohani’s initiative comes days after he took over as the Chairman. The Board has authorised its frontline staff to rope in the expertise of Eureka Forbes, one of the leading health and hygiene brands in the country, for the sanitation programme.
After a review of cleanliness at railway stations and in trains, Mr. Lohani underscored the need to sensitise and involve “the last man in the cleanliness chain.”
Urging officers to make field visits and check cleanliness by adopting a “smell/feel and check dust by touch” approach, a note issued by the Railway Board said officers could call Eureka Forbes and other experts to facilitate the sanitation mission. Officers were also told to interact with the cleaning staff, address their grievances and respect their self-esteem.
In September, the Board said there should be visible improvement at 107 stations identified across the country. These stations included two from each zone that were rated lowest in the Station Cleanliness Survey conducted in 2017. In Southern Railway, the two stations (A-category) that stood last were Ernakulam North and Kollam.
Among A-1 category stations, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, CST Mumbai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Bengaluru and Thiruvanthapuram stations were among 75 major stations chosen for the plan to bring about visible improvement in cleanliness.
Swachatha Pakhwada
The Indian Railways had conducted a fortnight-long sanitation programme called Swachatha Pakhwada from August 16 in compliance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
With a slogan ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat’, railway employees and volunteers drawn from various organisations were engaged in cleaning up station premises and trains. CCTV footage was used to identify areas vulnerable to litter and action taken to create awareness among passengers/visitors on the upkeep of railway assets.