Inspection at Ludhiana railway station: Problems galore, reveals report

After carrying out a detailed inspection on January 24, Zonal Railways Users Consultative Committee member Vivek Kumar Shukla submitted his report with Railway Board chairperson Vinay Tripathi, and Northern Railways’ general manager Ashutosh Gangal exposing the sad state of affairs at the station

Authorities’ tall claims of having streamlined operations at the Ludhiana station were debunked after the Zonal Railways Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) reported gross oversights in its functioning.

In his report, Shukla said that at the time of the inspection, no doctor was available in the emergency ward of the Railway Hospital. An accident patient was seen waiting for the doctor, so that he could be transferred to another hospital as he required immediate treatment. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

After carrying out a detailed inspection on January 24, Zonal Railways Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) member Vivek Kumar Shukla submitted his report with Railway Board chairperson Vinay Tripathi, and Northern Railways’ general manager Ashutosh Gangal exposing the sad state of affairs at the station.

No doctor available in hospital’s emergency

In his report, Shukla said that at the time of the inspection, no doctor was available in the emergency ward of the Railway Hospital. An accident patient was seen waiting for the doctor, so that he could be transferred to another hospital as he required immediate treatment.

“The patient, who was in immense pain, was made to do paperwork, instead of being treated or transferred,” he wrote, advising the officials to normalise hospital facilities for railway staff and make provision for direct admission to recognised hospitals in case of an accident through Unique Medical Identification (UMID) cards issued by the railways.

Gaping holes in security

After the Ludhiana Court Complex blast caused ripples across the state, authorities claimed to have scaled up security at the station. However, the report said that the security arrangements were subpar with three unclaimed packages lying near the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station, which were handed over to the GRP, during the inspection.

“No unclaimed package should remain in the station area. Moreover, it was observed that there was an illegal passageway near the GRP station, leading towards the platform. The passage should be closed immediately for passengers’ safety,” said the report.

Unauthorised vendors, defunct escalators

Shukla also rapped the authorities over the construction of illegal shops on the entrance of the station, and the presence of unauthorised vendors at the entry and the exit points of the station. On the day of the inspection, an escalator was found defunct. “This blemishes the image of the railways, and causes inconvenience to senior citizens,” said Shukla.

Toilet trouble

The report also created a stink over the state of the railways toilets. It said that a flush was non-functional, there was no liquid soap in the washroom, and the staff did not have their identity card.

Poor drainage system

The report also cast the spotlight on poor drainage ay the GRP Thana.

The fare display system at a few counters was non-functional. “I will reach out to the railway ministry to expose the operations at the station”, said a senior railway officer.