Railway launches operation clean-up at Pune station

Close on the heels of mid-day's exposé on the piles of garbage lying on the railway tracks and putting trains and passengers at risk, the administration has pulled on the gloves and started cleaning the mess

A day after mid-day wrote about piles of garbage seen on the tracks of the Pune railway station, (‘Heaps of garbage on train tracks spark fire, concern’, April 29), the railway administration has started cleaning up the premises inside and outside the station with great zeal. Garbage on the tracks, platforms and even outside the station premises are now being cleaned up every day.

GETTING HIS HANDS DIRTY: Pune railway station manager Suneel Kamthan giving instructions to the workers outside the station premises;  the drive started a day after mid-day published a report (below).Pic/Mohan Patil

They have also started cleaning up the spot outside the station and near the entrance where people urinate frequently. The railway administration also says that it held a special ‘pre-monsoon’ meeting on Monday, in which they came up with a to-do list.

“We are planning to change many things now. Roofs will be repaired wherever there is leakage, pipelines and other infrastructure will also be repaired. We called for the meeting specifically for this purpose, and all the departments of the railways at Pune station participated,” said Pune railway station manager, Suneel Kamthan.

SPIC AND SPAN: The platform looked squeaky clean at the station yesterday. Pic/Mohan Patil

The meeting was attended by officials from the departments of engineering, operations, commerce, health, as well as workers of the technical and electrical departments, all of whom have started the work that was allotted to them. “We are taking the cleanliness drive more seriously now.

Besides ensuring cleanliness on the platforms, our housekeeping staff will also be cleaning up outside the station premises. It is the face of our station and there is lot of dirt and garbage lying there. Over the past few days, we are cleaning this area,” added Kamthan.

While the main Pune railway station building is flanked by a prepaid auto rickshaw stand and a reservation building on side, there is a parking lot and some ATM machine booths on the other. The area between the compound wall of the station premises and the main entrance to the platforms is thronged by hawkers, beggars and garbage.

Prashant Bandal a frequent passenger, said, “There is lot of congestion and garbage outside the station premises now, and the railway administration should look into this matter. People usually have to walk through the garbage, but if the railways are cleaning up the area, it is necessary to maintain this cleanliness on a regular basis.”

Another passenger, Hari Reddy, said, “When we pay for our railway ticket, it includes good and clean facilities on the railway station. More dustbins and toilets should be added outside the station, so that people do not litter or urinate in the open.”

“We are going to clean up the entire area by this weekend, and then we are planning to paint the compound wall on the inner side. Or we will put up a fence at certain spots, where people usually throw garbage or urinate. More staff members will be deployed to clean up the station premises,” Kamthan said.

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