Paan stains, broken floor tiles, damaged seats, litter strewn and vermin in abundance on platforms is the embarrassing welcome the city gives to its visitors

This is part of MiD DAY's month-long audit of experiences of travelling in and out of the city, where we take up people's issues and place them before the authorities to address.

Thousands make their way to the city to fulfill their ambitions and accomplish their goals. However, if they have made their way to the City of Dreams by train, chances are rats and filthy platforms will be the first to welcome them.

Commenting on the refuse seen at platforms, Prarthana Vichare, said, "When I got down at Dadar station in 1995 for the first time, my impression about the city was bad.



The platform was strewn with litter and passengers were spitting everywhere on the platforms." Echoing the same sentiments is Rajesh Kumar.
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"I remember when I got down at Kalyan all I could see was dirt and paan stains. I wondered why people wanted to live in such a dirty city."

Railway authorities told MiD DAY that they are inundated with complaints about the dirty platforms and the insects infesting them but they are clueless as they have tried all methods to keep platforms clean but find it next to impossible to maintain them.
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A senior railway official said, "This is a serious concern for us. We keep receiving complaints but we are unable to clean everything. The passengers are not ready to support us at all. They spit and litter everywhere without even thinking of the efforts we take to clean it."

According to figures provided by the Railways, approximately 1.6 lakh passengers alight from trains on the Central Railway whereas 1 lakh passengers make their way to the city via the Western Railway everyday.

On the central line, stations such as CST, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Thane and Kalyan witness most passengers.

On the western line, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Andheri and Borivli are the major stations. However, the official told Mid DAY that a few stations especially the long distance ones are neglected by top officials because they do not visit the areas.

He added that the cleaning contract for stations such as Dadar, Kurla and Kalyan has expired. LTT station has a cleaning contract till July 2011.

Pests strike back

However, it is not just the paan-stained and litter strewn platforms that have become nightmares for passengers but also roach-infested trains.
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A senior official said, "Long distance trains have been infested by rats and roaches but in the last few months we have also received complaints about pests in local trains. We are taking extra efforts to get rid of the vermin."

Cleanliness measures

To combat the filth and stench, the Railway board is sanctioned Rs 20 lakh per year.u00a0The Railways have also appointed a mobile gang a group of 8-10 people sweep and clean railway platforms.

Sources said that the CR gets Rs 25,000 per station while the WR receives Rs 15,000 per station for maintenance purposes.

To fight the waste, the Railways have also sought help from technology. "We have bought a vacuum cleaner to pick up litter and plastic.

We also have other electronic devices such as platform cleaning machine, electronic broom and a jet spray. which has been purchased at Rs 1.2 crore," said AK Singh, PRO of Central Railways.

He added that an automatic coach washing plant has been commissioned at LTT station in February 2010.
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According to railway sources, they have been getting fewer complaints after they have started washing the coaches.

"We have undertaken several cleaning activities so that passengers feel cleaner," Singh added.

Officialspeak

Vineet Kumar, Deputy General Manager, Central Railways, said "We are already in the process of cleaning the platforms.
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The stationmaster has been given the impressed amount of Rs 25,000 to spend for cleaning the stations. It's a huge task for us but we are putting our best to clean the railway premises."