Rly security forces conduct surprise checks to ensure safety during Holi

Ludhiana: Ahead of Holi festival, security arrangements across the city railway station premises have been beefed up by local railway security forces.
The railway security forces authorities have also given strict directions to local officials for carrying out random inspection of trains heading towards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and depute as many as officials as possible to cover every nook and corner of the city station.
Later in the day, the railway police officials carried out an inspection in long-distance trains coming from Jammu railway station. They also checked the luggages of passengers travelling in Bihar-bound trains when their trains arrived in at Ludhiana railway station. Random identity verification was also carried out among passengers and visitors at the station.
Railway security authorities have also announced that more than 100 hundred advance CCTVs cameras will be installed in the station in the next few days.
Bulbir Singh, station house officer at Ludhiana railway station, said “Keeping in mind the forthcoming Holi celebrations, an extensive drive was carried out by both state and central government railway security forces at Ludhiana railway station on Saturday. Security personnel went around with hand-held metal detectors and dog squad, but no suspicious activity was reported.”
Anil Kumar, in charge of Railway Protection Force post, said, “Railway security forces will soon establish a high-tech police post to tighten the security arrangements at the city station. We are also installing advance CCTVS cameras soon.”
Most long-route trains delayed by 5-6 hours
Rail commuters continue to battle delays in the arrival of most of the Ludhiana-bound trains, as most long-distance trains on Sunday arrived in the city station after a delay of almost four to five hours.
Passengers mostly waiting for the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh trains seemed more impatient as their trains were running late very late — Amritsar Howrah express (from Howrah to Amritsar) arrived in station six hours and 20 minutes after the scheduled time, at around 11.10am (scheduled for 5.40am).
Station superintendent Ashok Salaria said, “As railways decided to reduce the frequency of long-distance trains, there was already a heavy rush for trains heading to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The delay further worsened the situation at the city railway station.” People were concerned by the growing crowd in the times of coronavirus as many were forced to squat on the unclean floors.
Muri Express from Tata Nagar to Jammu Tawi, was the most delayed train to arrive at the station — it came after eight hours and 45 minutes of its scheduled arrival of 5.15am.”