CHENNAI: In a bid to get rid of hawkers and vendors, who are known to hassle passengers on the trains and stations, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has-kick started a drive against those illegally occupying the railway premises that fall under the Chennai Division. About 500 persons were apprehended during the past 15 days, squarely reflecting the extent of the problem. However, an RPF official claimed that the number of hawkers and vendors coming to the Foot Overbridges (FOB) of the railway stations and selling their goods on moving trains has reduced considerably.According to S R Gandhi, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Chennai Division, Southern Railway, four special teams, comprising an Inspector and six other security personnel, including two women constables, have been constituted for the purpose. “We are conducting the drive on the Chennai Beach - Mundiampakkam, Central - Arakkonam and Tiruttani - Jolarpet sections,” he added. The hawkers encroach upon the FOBs, shrinking the available space for the smooth movement of commuters. It is acute in some places where people would get stuck for a few minutes, giving a tough time for the hapless passengers to move out of the stations. The violators are booked under Section 144 (1) of The Railways Act, 1989, which states that if any person canvasses for any custom or hawks or exposes for sale any article whatsoever in any railway carriage or upon any part of a railway, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a license granted by the railway administration in this behalf, the person would be liable for prosecution.However, the Arakkonam Rail User’s Association is not convinced. Alleging that the RPF men are conducting such drives only once in a while, G Prabakaran, the association president said that the hawkers continue to occupy the stairs of the FOBs at Arakkonam, causing untold hardships to train passengers. “They must carry out the drive without any break to end this menace,” he suggested. To this, a senior RPF official observed that the frequent violators are being booked continuously. “When the hawkers are being penalised for their violations now and then, it would prevent them from entering the railway stations, as their earnings are spent on fines,” the official added.
Comments
0 comment