As security becomes a prime concern in the run-up to the elections, the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials have turned a blind eye towards the safety of passengers at the city railway station.
Jammu Railway Station, which receives about five lakh passengers every day, has been earmarked as sensitive by security agencies but still the security arrangements made are not up to the mark. The security is handled by GRPF and RPF which do not have any advanced security apparatus.
STATE TIMES undertook a reality check on security arrangements at the railway station. The result was an eye-opener. Entrance is left open with no security while the entry on platforms remains unrestricted with a few cops deployed. When we visited the railway station no one was found manning the main entry points. In the wake of the upcoming elections, the security arrangements need to be made fool-proof but the same was found lacking especially at the entrance with no arrangements for frisking. Thus, making it a freeway for anyone to create trouble.
Moreover, not even a single RPF jawan is there in the waiting hall cum booking counter except a few stray dogs that were resting and ‘keeping a vigil on the passengers.’
Som Nath Sharma, a traveller at the railway station, said, “J and K has suffered at the hands of terrorists who often take advantage of such security lapses. Adding that the station lacks proper security mechanism, as anyone could enter without being frisked or noticed by the police. The railway authorities should depute more policemen here to keep security in place.”
When STATE TIMES contacted, SDPO, Railways Charanjeet Singh, he shared, “There are no flaws in security setup at the railway station. We are keeping a close vigil on each and every movement through the CCTV cameras. At present there are 16 CCTV cameras installed and our team is monitoring it closely. We have made different units which are active round the clock and are keeping a close watch on the track and the security system. There are no loopholes in the security arrangements. Moreover, we are planning to increase the number of CCTV cameras on the platform so that we can keep the security arrangements in place during the upcoming elections.”
Malu Kerni