Mumbai: Ahead of the second anniversary of
the Mumbai terror attacks, the Railway police today launched a
drive to train passengers to prevent or combat untoward
situations,including a terror strike.
The `Operation Savdhan` was launched at Chhatrapati
Shivaji Terminus Railway station where passengers were
informed about dos and don`ts in case of emergency.
A power-point presentation on previous terror attacks in
India and abroad was shown.
"The aim of the drive is to make every passenger alert to
become ears and eyes of the security forces and help us
preventing crimes including terror attacks. The campaign to
tackle terrorism will not be successful without public
participation," said Raj Khilnani, Additional Director
General (Railway).
Though the response was reasonable, police are expecting
more passengers attending the training sessions in future, he
said.
Government Railway Police Commissioner Tukaram Chavan
said the Mumbai railway network was huge and police staff to
guard the stations was less.
"If people are more vigilant, security personnel can give
their best and effectively prevent crime," he said.
Railway establishments have always been soft targets
because of presence of large crowd and chaotic environment.
Any mission against terror would be grossly incomplete without
active engagement and participation of citizens, Khilnani
added.
The Mumbai suburban Railway has witnessed several blasts
in which hundreds were killed. In 2003, a bomb went off in a
train in Mulund and in July 2006, a series of seven bombs
ripped through suburban trains. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
was attacked during the 26/11 terror strikes in which over 50
people were killed.
Earlier, the Railway Police had issued `Railway Mitra`
(Railway friend) passes to many passengers who volunteered
to assist them in policing.
Mumbai suburban trains, with Central and Western Railway
services, ferry nearly seven million commuters daily and
constitute over half of the total daily passenger capacity of
the Indian Railways.
The stations are guarded by 7,000 security personnel
from Government Railway Police, Railway Protection Force and
Home guards.
Last month, the city had relaunched it `Jagrut Mumbaikar`
campaign aimed at creating aware and alert citizens with
Ajay Devgan as its brand ambassador.
PTI
