ECoR observes Passengers’ and Customers’ Facilitation Fortnight

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 26:

East Coast Railway (ECoR) began intensive cleanliness and sanitation drives including surface cleaning at stations, drains cleaning and anti-mosquito drives began at different places in Odisha today to mark the Railway Passengers & Customers’ Fortnight “Rail Yatri/Upbhokta Pakhwada”.

Apart from this, to bring awareness among the common people and rail users on cleanliness “Swachh Bharat” an artist’s camp on the theme cleanliness was conducted at Khordha Road. All the three divisions of ECoR i.e., Khordha Road, Sambalpur and Waltair Division including headquarters at Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar participated in the intensive cleanliness drives at different places.

Safety awareness drives at level crossing gates in Titlagarh-Rayagada railway section and also at Ichhapuram station were conducted to sensitize road users to increase level of safety at unmanned level crossings and focus on educational measures and the promotion of safe behaviour at and around level crossings.

The Visakhapatnam Division organised theme-based seminars involving local intelligentsia and NGOs.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF), security wing of ECoR, in coordination with Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted massive awareness drives to educate the public on their safety while on travel and on gangs that befriend and drug co-passengers before robbing them of their belongings.

These apart, senior Railway officials were on direct interaction mode with the passengers at different trains and at stations by visiting stations and travelling with the public. They also took suggestions from the passengers and rail users about the facilities provided at stations and during journey in trains.

To mark the fortnight, ECoR has proposed to launch Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) Counters at Delang, Kanas Road, Balugaon, Chhatrapur, Sompeta, Ichhapuram, Barang, Mancheswar, Visakhapatnam, Bobbili, Simhachalam and Rayagada stations and open a reservation counter at Sambalpur City station.

For non-gazetted Railway staff, health check-up programmes and yoga camps were also organised and will continue round the fortnight. A very significant aspect of the programme is “Skill Development Programme” for local youth to be imparted by Mancheswar based Carriage Repair Workshop which has set a target of training at least 500 local unemployed youth in various trades, said an ECoR release today.