Metal detector at railway station lying defunct

Sumeer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 19

Putting the safety of thousands of passengers travelling by trains at risk, the lone metal detector at the city railway station has been lying defunct for past two months. The number of passengers at the railway station has increased manifold these days.

With the metal detector lying defunct for over two months, it provides an ample opportunity for anti-social elements to indulge in some nefarious activity as the authorities concerned are turning a blind eye to a ‘grave’ security lapse. The Bathinda railway station is one of the largest railway junctions in the region with thousands of passengers travelling on a daily basis.

Sources said there was only one metal detector installed near the entrance of the railway station and that too had been lying defunct since August 15, but the authorities concerned did not bother to repair it for past over two months.

A senior railways official, who did not wish to be named, said as per the norms, one metal detector each was required both at entry and exit points.

“The authorities also need to keep an intensive vigil to ensure that passengers or visitors do not enter the railway station from unauthorised routes. Also keeping in view the increased number of passengers during the festival season, the authorities could have better anticipated to ensure that at least one metal detector installed near the entrance is fully functional as anti-social elements can enter and create ruckus inside the station at any moment,” he added.

Notably, more than 60 trains depart from the junction on a daily basis from the city railway station.

Apart from ferrying the passengers to their respective destinations, the junction is also used by traders and the Army to ferry goods worth crore of rupees to various parts of the country. Keeping in view these factors, a round-the-clock vigil is the need of the hour here, said sources.

Station House Officer, Government Railway Police, Harjinder Singh, said, “The private firm that has installed the metal detector can only repair it. We have written a letter to it in this regard. It may take few days to get the metal detector repaired.”