Vishwas Dass
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 23: There is close-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance at Bhubaneswar railway station, but rail users here want more sophisticated gadgets installed at the station to ensure foolproof security.
Indian Railways’ Integrated Security System (ISS) project remains incomplete at the station which is a ‘sensitive’ installation. The ISS plan was aimed at ensuring security mechanism akin to airports at vulnerable railway stations. Cuttack and Puri stations are also being brought under CCTV surveillance in view of upcoming Nabakalebar.
Amid demand for augmentation of amenities, introduction of trains and safety before presentation of railway budget 2015-16, passengers have expressed concern over poor safety arrangements at Bhubaneswar station. Many passengers believe ECoR will have to ensure unprecedented security before Nabakalebar in which millions of passengers are expected to use rail service.
At least 100 special trains are likely to be operated by ECoR and other zonal railways during Nabakalebar to
ferry devotees. The city station has
a monthly passenger influx of over seven lakh while thousands turn up
daily to book
their tickets at passenger reservation centre (PRS) outside platform No.1 which is frequented by touts.
Notably, 32 IP-based surveillance cameras were commissioned by the ECoR September 15, 2014 to keep a hawk’s eye on strategic points.
However, there are a lot of fragile points where security is slack from terror threat perception.
The live feeds from these cameras reach the central
control room at platform-1 where the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel monitor the visuals round-the-Clock.
However, all is not well with the CCTV monitoring plan as RPF faces staff crunch which affects regular footage monitoring. Installation of cameras, however, is no shield against terror threat to the railway station. Several hi-end equipment like ‘under vehicle scanner’ (UVC) and explosive detectives, are yet to be installed at the station. The UVC was supposed to be installed at the entrance of the station adjoining GRP office where four-wheelers are parked.
One luggage scanner and a few door-frame metal detectors (DFMDs) installed at the station frequently remain dysfunctional because of lack of maintenance. Passengers with heavy luggage often do not get frisked by RPF and government railway police (GRP) personnel which may pose grave security threat to other passengers.
“ECoR CCTV plan is commendable but regular monitoring is needed to keep terror attacks at bay. RPF and GRP personnel seldom check passengers during
peak hours,” said Ranjan Biswal, a Rajdhani Express passenger.
Another passenger Nalini Rani Sahoo lamented that railways did little to ensure women safety at the parking, parcel shed and PRS centre.
