Railway Protection Force staffers overworked for Republic Day security

BENGALURU: The acutely short-staffed Railway Protection Force (RPF) in the Bangalore Railway Division has been asked to put in 12-hour shifts from January 22 for the upcoming Republic Day and duties to be discharged in this connection.

With contingents already despatched outside the city, a communication from the Intelligence Department this week has put six railway stations in the Bengaluru Division on alert on account of “perceived threats for January 26”. “All staffers have been directed to work for 12 hours from January 22 until a couple of days after Republic Day. Sanctioned leaves have all been cancelled to help us cope up,” a top cop said.

“An RPF team is leaving for Tripura on election duty on Thursday while another team is off to Hubballi to take part in the grand Republic Day parade there as it is the headquarters of South Western Railway,” he added.

While the Republic Day parade in Bengaluru too requires staffers to practice, the need to enhance bandobast for the day at all these stations is putting enormous pressure on the Division, another official added. Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna, Yesvantpur, Krishnarajapuram, Banaswadi and Bangarpet are among the stations put on alert in the division, sources said. While exact figures pertaining to the RPF shortage could not be provided by the RPF, statistics reveal that an alarming staff shortage exists here.

BDA walks away with most prizes for R-Day flower show
Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has won the highest number of prizes in the Republic Day Horticultural show 2018, the organization said on Wednesday. This puts BDA on the top spot among all government organization competitors with a total of 116 first prizes. This includes 82 first prizes for exhibits of ornamental plants, 34 vegetable potted plants, 19 rolling shields and rolling cups in the garden competition.