To ensure passenger safety, especially women, the Railway Ministry is in favour of installing CCTVs in individual rail compartments, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. This is subject to consensus in the House over sensitivities and privacy concerns, he added.

Replying to a question by A Sampath of the CPI(M) on rising incidents of theft, molestation and robberies in trains, especially in Kerala, Prabhu said his Ministry is taking new initiatives, such as providing mobile phones to all personnel escorting trains to keep in touch with each other.

“They will also levy spot fines for incidents such as molestation,” he added.

The Minister said eight Mahila Vahinis (women squad members) have been sanctioned with a total strength of 1,056 personnel to ensure the safety of women passengers. Up to October, 245 cases related to women have been reported. In addition, the Railways is planning to create a forensic lab connected to the Home Ministry’s labs to nab criminals.

Prabhu said the main bottleneck is that the Government Railway Police (GRP) is under State Governments, whereas the Railways is paying 50 per cent of the amount spent on their salaries.

The Railways wants operational control over GRP to protect passengers as well as assets, he said.

“I am pursuing the matter with the States and have asked them to allow GRPs to function under the Railways. A note has already been circulated to all the States, 17 of which have opposed the idea,” he added.

Food for thought

On a question on licensed vendors being replaced by food plazas affecting poorer passengers, Prabhu said his Ministry would revisit the issue to find out the problem areas.

“We want to increase customer satisfaction and provide food as close to the compartment as possible,” the Minister added.

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