Mysuru Railway Station bags No. 4 spot in country for cleanliness

Mysuru:  Indian Railways, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat initiative, is striving hard to maintain Railway Stations and trains as well as surrounding areas clean through its Swachch Rail Swachch Bharat Programme. As part of this initiative, Swachchta Pakhwada (Cleanliness Fortnight) has been launched from today till Oct.2, in Mysuru Division, said General Manager of South Western Railway (SWR) Ajay Kumar Singh.

Addressing a press conference at the City Railway Station premises here this morning, he said that Mysuru bagged the Number 4 Station spot for cleanliness among the 64 divisions in the country and in the South Western Railway among all the three divisions of Bengaluru, Hubballi and Mysuru, it had bagged the top spot.

Each day of the Pakhwada has been associated with a particular theme pertaining to cleanliness and as  part of this, the message on ban on single use of plastic will be spread across the length and breadth of the Division till Oct.2, he said.

The Swachchta Fortnight, as part of Swachch Rail Swachch Bharat Mission will see a series of activities throughout the Division to bring about lasting improvements on cleanliness. The passenger feedback and suggestions collected during field inspections by officials and those posted on social media platforms will be acted upon to achieve the desired results, said Singh and added that the special trains to Dasara will be run based on the demand.

This year PM Modi launched the drive against single use plastic and not a single plastic will be allowed inside the Stations or in the compartments. The augmented Linen Care Centre (laundry) and the newly developed track side green nursery was also launched this morning, as per Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi’s directive to increase and create awareness on environment and enhance appearance of landscape alongside track. In addition to this, saplings will be planted along the track, he said.

SWR Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Aparna Garg said that single use plastic is completely banned and even shops inside the Railway Stations are not allowed to stock them. Instead, the passengers as well as the shopkeepers have been asked to use paper bags or cloth bags. The SWR has installed a bottle crushing machine to help recycle the plastic waste generated daily at the city Railway Station and one such machine will also be installed at Hassan Railway Station, she said.

The Railways was forced to give the linen of about 1.5 ton outside for washing and there were many complaints. Now, it has gone up to 2.7 tons and hence four washing machines have been installed in place of two and two dryers have also been installed in place of one, which will be run by the Railway Department itself. The contract for two years was Rs.1.2 crore and a major portion of this money can be saved with this move, she said.

Earlier to the press meet, as part of the programme on the inaugural day, Ajay Kumar Singh, flagged off a Prabhat Pheri (Walkathon) with officers and staff, their family members, Scouts and Guides, Station cleaning staff and others participating in it.

Shramdaan campaign

The walkathon, which started from Vontikoppal Railway Colony at 8 am reached Platform 1 of Railway Station where Swachhta Pledge was administered by Singh; Railwaymen committed themselves to 2 hours of devoted Shramdaan every week.

The General Manager, speaking on the occasion, sought the blessings of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru and wanted the dirt and ugliness everywhere to be eradicated like the Goddess annihilated demon Mahishasura.

A skit was performed by Scouts and Guides highlighting the need for constructive contribution by every citizen, at all levels and from all walks of life so that the dream of Mahatma Gandhi for a Clean India can be realised.

Coinciding with the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow (Sept.17), a massive Shramdaan campaign will be organised with participation and involvement of all Railway employees, their family members, staff unions and others with main focus on collection of plastic waste from all Railway premises including platforms, train tracks, Railway School, Hospital, Colonies and also special attention will be given to approaches to Railway Stations over the Division.

On Sept. 18, there will be a campaign for bio-toilets and notices will be pasted in all Railway Stations, Railway Colonies, running rooms regarding anti-littering and also in all the schools.