New Delhi: Faced with increasing
criticism about lack of passenger amenities, Northern Railways
has asked senior officials to conduct surprise checks and
periodic inspections of stations and trains.
"The aim is to bring about a visible change in about
a month's time", officials said.
Delhi Division, which falls under the zone, has
deputed about 154 gazetted officers to carry out the checks
and report back to the departments concerned.
"The officers include 33 deputy heads of departments,"
a senior official of the division said.
He said that even the DRM would be involved in the
exercise and carry out surprise inspections to ensure that the
directives issued by the officers are actually being carried
out.
He will be given a copy of the inspection report by
the inspecting officials.
The General Manager of Northern Railways recently held
a video conference with DRMs under the zone and asked them to
ensure that passenger amenities are spruced up.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has put passenger
amenities on top of her agenda and made a series of policy
announcements in this regard in her budget speech.MORE PTI SGI
Delhi Division has also instructed officers to pick a
train of their choice on random basis and inspect all details
onboard.
"We want to ensure that every station and train, both
big and small is inspected so that there is no
discrimination," the official said.
Delhi Division has three stations which fall in
category A1, about 14 in category A, 11 in category B, 41 in
category D and about 85 in category E.
The anti-fraud squad of Northern Railway had also
recently stepped up its drive against illegal hawkers at
platforms and travel agents. The move, officials said, has
yielded good results with scores of them being booked under
various sections of RPF Act.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 09:57