Swachhta a distant dream at rly station

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 25

Though the Railway authorities have installed a large number ofdustbins at Ludhiana Railway Station after theimplementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the safai workers feel no change in the behaviour of visitors. The Tribune interviewed several sweepers to know the ground reality.

Most of the safai workers at the railway station said the banners of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for the awareness of visitors served no purpose. The visitors continue to litter on the platforms and tracks, others who chew tobacco spit on the walls of the railway station. Packets of gutka and soaps choke washbasins.

Gajinder, a safai worker deployed on the entrance of the station, said, “I haven’t observed any change. I have been working at the station for the past seven years. Passengers recklessly throw garbage even when the authorities have kept dustbins at various places. It is very rare, when someone uses dustbins.”

Sheela Devi, another safai worker at Platform No. 1, said, “Passengers and visitors throw garbage on tracks. We have to collect the garbage from tracks to throw it into dustbins. Only new equipment has been installed, but no change has been witnessed under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.”

Gaurav, a safai worker who cleans washrooms at the railway station, said, “What we can expect from visitors who do not even flush the toilets? Migrant workers spit on walls after chewing tobacco. People often complaint that washrooms at the station stink, but who is responsible? Visitors do not treat railway washrooms as their own property. I clean the washbasins more than 20 times in a day.”

Another safai worker at the railway station alleged that the authorities do not fine the violators, who throw garbage.

“There is a provision under the Railway Act that officials can fine persons who litter. However, the authorities do not take any action against the violators,” the safai worker said.

Meanwhile, Inderjeet Singh, senior travelling ticket examiner (TTE), said, “We issue challans in routine. After the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, less garbage is witnessed on the platforms. We can just try to control the practice, but cannot eliminate it completely at once.”