Passengers arriving at Jammu Railway Station will have to learn to cope with poor sanitation, pest nuisance and stray dog menace because the railway authorities have failed to maintain sanitation, pest and insect control measures.
The Jammu Railway Station, which is considered one of the busiest railway stations of the country and witnesses around one lakh passengers every day, presents a dirty picture.
Any positive impression that one may have had of the station evaporates completely at the sight of the heaps of garbage that greet you right on the platform and outside the station. The area around the station has become easy dumping ground for plastic waste from the shops and eateries that have sprung up around and in the absence of required number of dustbins or a regular waste disposal mechanism the place is getting worse day by day.
The entire area near the taxi stand is replete with heaps of garbage. It becomes difficult for passengers to walk through as foul smell emanating around makes it difficult to stand there.
It is strange that on one hand the government claims that it is making efforts to promote tourism in the State and on the other hand no attempts have been made to provide the required facilities and maintain sanitation at the place, which hosts lakhs of Vaishno Devi pilgrims, tourists and passengers every day.
The only impression, which visitors carry with them is, piles of garbage, freely roaming rats, stray dogs and the stink emanating at the station.
“Heaps of waste lay scattered at the platform and outside the station. It is difficult to walk through, the stink is unbearable. Our first impression of the city was quite bad. The station lacks basic facilities like sanitation. One will not find a dustbin here easily. The one, we found was hanging under the stairs while the filth and dirt was scattered all around. Moreover, there are no proper drinking water facilities. The place from where passengers are taking water is filled with waste and smelling bad. You will find a tap outside the station within the premises near ATM but that too is in a pathetic condition. It is sad that no one is bothered about this and authorities have adopted such languid approach,” said Raminder Sachdev, a passenger.
Few years back, setting up of a multi-facility complex with separate waiting rooms for AC and general class passengers; proper drinking water facility, catering snacks and food in a canteen, with lodging facility for the passengers in rooms and dormitory was planned but it remained on papers and proposals only.
Randheer Singh, who came for the first time to Jammu from Uttar Pradesh said, “I am shocked to see the surroundings here at the Jammu Railway Station. We had a completely different picture in mind about Jammu and Kashmir but this is a real bad experience. What is State Government doing here if they cannot provide basic civic amenities and clean environs to the tourists”, he added.
Malu Kerni
