With the festive frenzy of Durga Puja in Bengal, the Sealdah section of Eastern Railway (ER) is witnessing massive commuters availing the transport mode. To ensure smooth movement and safety of lakhs of passengers, the railway authorities have gone into war footing with 24x7 monitoring systems and heightened security arrangements.
This year, 12 surveillance clusters have been created across the Sealdah North and South sections. A central war room is keeping constant watch on live feeds from over 2,200 CCTV cameras installed at important stations.
“The real-time footage allows officials to monitor crowd flow, identify risks and immediately alert Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) in case of emergencies. Senior railway officials are also stationed at key hubs to supervise ground-level management,” said an ER official.
“Stations that witness heavy footfall during Puja are under round-the-clock surveillance. If any unusual activity is noticed, prompt action is taken,” said the official. From preventing passengers from standing at platform edges to intervening when commuters cling dangerously to train gates, the war room is acting as the nerve centre of the operation.
The authorities are also tackling risky behaviour among passengers. Many visitors have been spotted crossing tracks in a rush, ignoring footbridges, running with headphones plugged in, or even attempting selfies near moving trains.
“To handle the surge, special night services are being run for commuters traveling from the city and suburbs. Security has been reinforced across the Sealdah, Howrah, Asansol and Malda divisions, with additional staff deployed to manage swelling festive crowds,” said another railway official.
Also read: Kolkata reels under twin electrocution tragedies amid Puja preps
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