On the tracks: Throw garbage, end up in jail

RPF has started a drive against people who throw waste from their homes on railway tracks; offenders will be handed a six-month imprisonment and fine of Rs 500

If you stay in a building near the railway tracks and are used to throwing garbage on railway premises caring little about civic sense, better mend your ways.

For, Railway Protection Force (RPF) has started a drive against people littering tracks.


The Central Railway collects nearly 20,000 kg of garbage and
spends between Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 on clearing the mess daily

If caught flinging packets of garbage from the cosy comfort of your balcony on the tracks, you may land up in jail and your society may be served a showcause notice.

The offenders will be booked under Section 145 (b) of the Indian Railway Act, 1989 (see box) and the quantum of punishment could be six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500.

A senior official from Central Railway said, "Nearly 2,800 kg of garbage is dumped on the tracks by people residing in nearby houses and commuters.
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This malpractice is really weighing heavy on the pocket of the railways. We have to assign extra manpower for clearing this mess. If not cleared on a daily basis, the garbage may choke the tracks and affect movement of trains."

The RPF has already started sending notices to all railway police stations, instructing them to patrol areas in their jurisdiction where buildings are very close to the tracks.

The worst affected areas are Masjid Bunder, Sandhurst Road, Byculla, Curry Road, Ghatkopar, Dombivli, Kalwa and Diva.

Not only housing societies but individual homes are also under the RPF radar.

"There are individual homes near the tracks in Diva and Kalwa. We will be sending notices to them also," an RPF official said.

He added, "The notice will be marked to the secretary of the housing society and the person will be requested to inform every resident of the building regarding the new rule."

According to sources, the CR collects nearly 20,000 kg of garbage and spends around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 on clearing the mess daily.
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Nearly 70 labourers are involved in this cleaning drive, which is carried out during odd-hours so that the movement of trains doesn't get affected.

The Central Railway has removed 35,043 cubic metre of garbage from the railway tracks this year so far.
Shashank Gupta, a Mumbai resident and railway activist, has started a campaign against the malpractice.

"Central railway alone spends around Rs 75 lakh per annum merely on cleaning tracks.

All India estimates say that each kilometre of railway track roughly generates 17 kg of garbage, with greater amounts found alongside main railway terminals, intersection, and junctions," he said.

Heaps of garbage along the tracks also serve as a breeding ground for rodents and mosquitoes, spreading diseases like malaria, dengue and chikungunia.

"Littering should be treated as an offence and the guilty should be penalised," he added.
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Anil Sharma, Inspector General of RPF, Mumbai, said, "This is a serious issue and we have already started sending notices to societies and alerted all our men to patrol and trace such people."

The rulebook says
Section 145 (b) of the Indian Railways Act, 1989, reads, "If any person in any railway carriage or upon any part of a railway, commits any nuisance or act of indecency or uses abusive language, then such punishment shall not be less than a fine of Rs 500 and imprisonment of six months."

Garbage Disposal
The garbage collected from railway tracks is disposed of in low-lying areas such as u00a0Kurla, Diva, Mumbra and Mankhurd. Waste is also recycled outside the city and used as landfill in new railway projects.