Under Central scheme, 22 railway stations in Punjab to be revamped

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh, August 6

Punjab with 22 railway stations tops the list of beneficiaries among the neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for which the foundation stone (through video-conferencing) was laid by PM Narender Modi today.

The list of stations in Punjab included Kotkapura Junction, Sirhind, Abohar, Fazilka, Ferozepur Cantt, Gurdaspur, Pathankot city, Jalandhar Cantt Junction, Phillaur Junction, Kapurthala, Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana Junction, Mansa, Mohali, Patiala, Anandpur Sahib, Nangal Dam, Ropar, Dhuri, Malerkotla, Sangrur and Muktsar.

A senior officer in the Northern Railways said, “The programme, developed after the detailed discussions at all levels of the administration and field staff, has underlined improving infrastructure, technology and passenger amenities. The scheme for future development now is the culmination of a nine-year old ongoing programme.”

The state-of-the-art passenger amenities with revamping of the existing infrastructure is the primary aim of the scheme. This include “smooth access to railway stations by removal of unwanted structures, improved lighting, better circulating area, upgraded parking space, Divyangjan-friendly infrastructure and environmentally conducive building by use of green and renewable energy.”

The railway official also conceded, “I know that first of all we will have to deal with the unhygienic conditions on the railway platforms like Ludhiana for example. With my experience, I can only say that no efforts of a government can succeed without 100 per cent participation by the public. Punishing offenders and informing public is only a small step towards making a good beginning.”

It was felt that the government needs to work out a separate plan of action for handling the issue of beggars and thieves on railway platforms.

Rajesh Sharma, a senior manager in a Bangalore-based company, said “A beginning has to be made at regulating the public behaviour in first place like on enquiry counters. More than often, passengers are pushing even while boarding and de-boarding. The public will not make an automatic rationalisation so the government has to think of a plan to address the rush menace on the railway stations as well.”

He said: “ATM machines are not working most of the times. The entry and exit points are not neatly marked at a number of stations. ”