E-Paper
His priorities: Passengers? safety, better service
Determined to provide better services to the train passengers, Divisional Railway Manager SK Chaudhary joined at Allahabad in July 2005. Earlier, he worked as an executive director (rates) in the Railway Board. In a tete-a-tete with Shivani Chaturvedi, Chaudhary discusses various measures that are being taken by the railways for the welfare of passengers as well as staff.
Determined to provide better services to the train passengers, Divisional Railway Manager SK Chaudhary joined at Allahabad in July 2005. Earlier, he worked as an executive director (rates) in the Railway Board. In a tête-à-tête with Shivani Chaturvedi, Chaudhary discusses various measures that are being taken by the railways for the welfare of passengers as well as staff.
What are your priority areas?
In the railways, safety is the way of life. We have to think about safety of the train passengers. My next priority is to take care of my staff members. In order to have proper work environment it is essential to have cordial relations with the staff members.
Besides, we are taking measures to provide improved services to the train passengers which include proper coach guidance system to help the passengers easily locate their coaches, mechanised cleaning on the platforms, proper lighting system, overhauling of the circulating area and other facilities. In Allahabad division the five main stations picked up under the initiative are Allahabad, Aligarh, Etawah, Kanpur and Mirzapur .
How many unmanned level crossings are there in Allahabad division and what steps are being taken to man them?
All the unmanned level crossings on the main line in the Allahabad division have been manned.
As far as branch lines are concerned, there is one unmanned level crossing on Shikohabad-Farrukhabad route which qualify for manning and efforts are being made by the railways in this regard.
What steps are being taken for the maintenance of platforms specially platform number 7, 8, 9 and 10?
The railways is taking measures to ensure that the passengers get clean platforms and for this we plan to introduce mechanised cleaning soon on all the platforms. Besides, there will be proper lighting system and proper supply of drinking water. In the coming days, the changes will soon be visible even to a casual visitor.
What action has been taken to protect the visitors against fleecing by the contractors at parking stands of Allahabad Junction Station?
The railway officials have ensured that actual rates are displayed on boards near the stands.
Besides, telephone numbers of the officials concerned are also given on the board. We expect that those who are being fleeced should come forward and make complaints to the related officers. The complaints would be taken up seriously and strict action taken against the wrong doers.
What are your contributions in successful handling of the affairs of the division since you joined here?
There has been massive increase in the transportation output in the Allahabad division. Besides, there has been approximately eight per cent growth in passenger and freight traffic. This has been possible due to close monitoring of the assets whose reliability has improved and failure rate has come down.