Mangaluru: With rise in terror attacks, security measures in public places is a must. With Mangaluru already making to headline with its possible terror links over the last several years, the need for security measures in public places in the Port City becomes all the more important.
One of the baggage scanners lying idle at Mangaluru Central Railway Station
However, the sad state of affair is that in Mangaluru Central Railway station, despite some security measures being put in place, officials apathy has marred them and today these expensive equipment have been left to hog dust.
Vehicle scanners were put in place on either sides of the station’s entry points three-years-ago, but today they stand unused.
What reminds one who passes by the vehicle scanner installed on the rear side entry of Mangaluru Central Railway Station is that a light fixed above one of the camera is switched on 24×7, though the system is not put to use till now. One of the cameras installed on the front side entry to the railway station was damaged when the pole it was fixed to got bent over.
When Railway Protection Force (RPF) inspector Purushotham Poojary of Mangaluru Central station was contacted, he said the railway administration has to train the RPF and hand the system over to them. But for reasons unknown, the same has not happened.
The plight of the baggage scanner installed at the entrance of Mangaluru Central Railway Station on Platform 2 and 3 is also the same. The baggage scanners are not being utilised and one of them is non functional after the belt in the scanner got damaged three months ago.
When this reporter from NewsKarnataka had been to the station on July 7, the baggage scanner installed at the entrance of the station was kept switched on, but no operator was found.
The Mangaluru Central Railway Station is a classic example of how officials apathy can ruin a beautiful set up. The station has all the equipment, but what lacks is the will power from the officials to keep them qorking.
A look at the station compels everyone to wonder about the huge investment made on the equipment that is silently going to dogs.
