Mid-day impact: Screening, vigilance stepped up at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai

Friday sees ample deployment of RPF and GRP personnel to help BMC officials screen incoming railway passengers

A day after mid-day reported on how many arriving passengers at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) were evading antigen tests and screening as there were not enough police officers to manage the crowd, an adequate number of cops were deployed on the station premises on Friday. Denying the allegations of non-cooperation, the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) claimed that they were supporting the BMC teams fully in screening the passengers. 

The railway cops further said that they had never received a complaint regarding the same. mid-day in its May 28 report highlighted that thousands of passengers were managing to leave through various exists of the station without undergoing tests or screening. The BMC L ward had claimed that the railway cops were not cooperating and so they were not being able to manage the crowd at the station. However, both the RPF and GRP denied the allegations and said that they were extending full cooperation with an adequate number of police personnel based on the number of passengers arriving at the station.

BMC health workers conduct temperature checks on passengers at LTT on Friday

“We have 25 police personnel, including the officers deployed at the LTT railway station. Out of them, 10 to 12 are deployed everyday at the station to assist the BMC team and manage the crowd to ensure that everyone is screened,” said Smita Dhakane, Senior Police Inspector, GRP, Kurla.

Also Read: Mumbai: 450 kits for Covid-19 tests of 20,000 passengers arriving at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus

However, when mid-day visited the station on Wednesday, only three cops were seen near the screening area. “At every railway station screening arrangements have been made outside the premises, but at LTT the same has been done on the platform, so there is no question of non-cooperation,” Dhakane added. While speaking to mid-day on Thursday, Health Officer of L ward, Jeetendra Jadhav had claimed that the cops were not cooperating.

Antigen tests being conducted at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on Friday

Meanwhile, the RPF also said that there were no complaints of non-cooperation from the civic body. “Our officers and staff are maintaining security at the railway station and managing the crowd to help the BMC teams 24/7. Deployments are done based on the passenger capacity,” said Police Inspector, Keshav Rana of the RPF, LTT.

10-12
No. of GRP cops deployed at LTT daily to assist the BMC

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