Security drive: Rly stall staff to get ID cards

V Ayyappan TNN

Mar 5, 2009

Chennai: With railway stations being identified as a soft target for terrorists, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to keep track of the workers employed by private players who operate food and beverages stalls, books stalls and other passenger facilities at railway stations in the state. IRCTC will issue fresh identity cards, which all the workers employed at different stalls and shops at railway stations must wear mandatorily. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has identified 12 stations in the state and five trains as sensitive and decided to intensify deployment of personnel and modernise security arrangements. These are part of the 42 major stations already identified as vulnerable to possible terror attacks in the Southern Railway zone. Most of the employees have ID cards to enable free entry into ticketed areas of railway stations. But now, “display of cards and documentation of workers are going to be made compulsory to bring in accountability because railway stations are crowded open spaces where imposing security measures is a challenge,” said IRCTC regional director V Sriram. “We will soon call for tenders to prepare and issue identity cards to all the workers. The process will be implemented along with the proposed modernisation of food and beverages stalls being undertaken at railway stations. A model of the identity card has already been prepared,” he added. The cards will be issued after the police verify the antecedents of the employees. A medical check-up for employees will be mandatory because they will be handling food. “This will bring in accountability and awareness among the licensees who operate stalls inside railway stations and also provide food inside trains. The move is also a part of the various measures being adopted by railways to improve security at railway stations.” Sriram said that “we are going to make regulation stricter. All operators will have to employ only those who have identity cards. They will not be able to shuffle employees according to their wish.” Most of the stalls are taken on contract by operators who have restaurants and stores. So, they often depute employees from their city outlets to work at their stalls in railway stations. “Such practices will be considered a security risk in the future,” he added. IRCTC has leased out and regulates around 660 stalls, including food and beverages outlets, book stores, fruit stalls, food vending units and others, at railway stations in the south zone spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. In addition to Central, Egmore, Coimbatore and Madurai stations, the list of sensitive stations also includes Mambalam, Tambaram, Katpadi, Arakkonam, Villupuram, Erode, Salem, and Tirunelveli. The stations and trains had been identified based on the usage, the number of crimes against passengers and intelligence sharing with the state police, said southern railway chief security commissioner G M P Reddy. The RPF recently upgraded CCTV cameras at Central and Egmore railway stations.