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Ludhiana | Two sides of railway station: Decent inside, filthy outside
While the area inside the railway station falls under the jurisdiction of railway authorities, the responsibility to maintain the areas outside the boundaries lies with the Ludhiana municipal authorities.
With the successional launch of two special cleanliness drives by the railways under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the state of sanitation inside the Ludhiana railway station has seen a significant improvement, but at the same time, the entry and exit gates continue to remain in a filthy state.
While the area inside the railway station falls under the jurisdiction of railway authorities, the responsibility to maintain the areas outside the boundaries lies with the municipal authorities.
Visitors at the station are regularly greeted with littered waste, unhygienic food vends and encroachments by auto and e-rickshaws. Public urination alongside the outer walls of the railway station also irks visitors and passers-by.
Railway authorities said that since the pandemic, railways have brought a major shift in their efforts to maintain cleanliness at the station. They said since the areas outside the station fall under the jurisdiction of the municipal authorities, it is their responsibility to maintain tidiness.
‘A stain on reputation of city’
Several residents said the messy state of the station’s entry gates affects the reputation of the city. Parveen Chopra, who is a resident of Jamalpur, said, “The chaos, lack of cleanliness,and foul smell at the gates of the railway station, all add up to a bad experience.”
He said, “Due to the presence of vends and eateries, waste is piled up at the gates in the evening, which is an embarrassment for residents.”
Balpreet Arora, a resident of Dugri, said, “As most part of the road outside the railway station remains clogged with vends and auto-rickshaws during evening, it takes over 20 minutes to get outside.”
MC health branch official Ashwani Sahota said, “Our workers clean the outskirts of the railway station twice a day.”
MC superintendent Vivek Verma said, “The drive to remove the encroachments by the vends is already underway and strict action will be taken in the coming days.”
Speaking on the encroachments by autorickshaws outside the station, joint commissioner of police(JCP, traffic) Gurdial Singh said, “Teams of traffic police are regularly deployed at the gates of railway station and a separate lane for autorickshaws has been created to improve the flow of traffic.”
Chief health officer Harish Kumar said, “A team of over 45 cleanliness workers is responsible for maintaining cleanliness at the railway station. During the two shifts, the whole platform is scrubbed with a ride-on scrubber, and mopping and sweeping is done several times during a day.”
He said five samples of drinking water were collected from the railway station which gave satisfactory results. He said in order to prevent the spread of diseases, including dengue and malaria, insecticides are sprayed regularly at the platform and rooms.
Officials said that a bigger waiting hall would lessen the rush at the platforms and improve the condition.
Railways department had initiated two special cleanliness campaigns— first from September 15 to October 2 and second from October 2 to 31— had been initiated by the department to maintain the cleanliness during the festive season.
