How safe is our railway station?

MiD DAY did a security check at the railway station during peak hours, to discover that lethargy has resurfaced at one of the city's famous and busiest landmarks, only a week after the 26/11 anniversary

With nearly a lakh commuters moving in and out of Pune Railway station, it's almost impossible to spot an anti-social element among the crowds.

Not to forget, the huge number of bags and luggage that pass through on a daily basis. Under such testing circumstances, security must be at its best to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

But as MiD DAY discovered, security arrangements at the station left a lot to chance.

In October, Railway authorities claimed to have a functional X-ray scanner installed at the station.

However, we discovered that the scanner was non-functional.

Gate no 2

MiD DAY staffer Gajanan Joshi passes through Gate No 2, where the scanner is placed, carrying a handbag.
We came across Hemant Yadav of Railway Protection Force (RPF), an attendant at the scanner, said, "No one is here, it's lunch time now."

Then B B Kadam, who said he was the in-charge at that point, said, "Ek taar toot gaya (one wire has broken). So it is not working."

"There are seven gates in the station and but there's just one scanner and that too at this point only," he added.

Gate no 1

Joshi passes through the main Gate No1. Again he sails through, unstopped.

At the security table, we spotted passengers sitting, using it like a waiting area. When we quizzed some passengers, Rakesh Sharma, travelling to Mumbai, said, "He was not aware there was a checking system in place here."

Vijay Kumar, travelling to Hyderabad with his wife, also said, "No one checked our baggage."

Side gate

Joshi passes through another gate at the far end (right) of the entrance and walked all the way with his bag down to the gate where the parcels and crates etc were to be brought in.

This is next to the Central railway, Pune junction pay office.

Baggage area

He sails through the baggage area too, without any security personnel intercepting him. pics/jignesh mistry