With an aim to keep tracks clean, washable apron at Haridwar station was inaugurated today as the Indian Railway is celebrating 'Yatri Suvidha Pakhwada'(passengers' amenity fortnight) between 30 May and 9 June.
A 68-seater bench was also installed at the station to increase the seating capacity.
Washable apron is a ballastless track or tracks on a concrete bed - along the entire length of tracks at the station so that water jets can be used to flush out waste from toilets of parked trains.
Many works related to the passengers' amenity would be completed in this Pakhwada, which is a joint initiative of Indian Railway and the state governments, Moradabad Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Sudhir Agrawal said.
Agrawal said railway officials, besides participating in the cleanliness campaign, would meet passengers to find out and solve their problems.
He said 1.5 lakhs railway employees besides Railway Unions were participating in this drive.
He said that yoga and Ayurveda camps for railway staffers are being organised so that their behaviour with passengers can be better coordinated.
Meanwhile, Agrawal said that delay in getting forest clearance for carrying out railway projects would be discussed in a meeting between the two departments on June 6 at Motichur station.
He also said track-doubling work between Dehradun-Haridwar has not been completed due to the delay in issuance of NOC of the forest department and it would be discussed in the meeting.
The issue of raising height of Laksar railway station would also be discussed besides the issue of railway tracks crossing through elephant corridor.
Terming Rishikesh-Karn Prayag rail marg a "strategically important" besides "needed for society" he said Railway Vikas Nigam has started survey on this line and work on it would start soon.
He said that a Railway official would be deployed for the Ardh Kumbha Mela, CCTV cameras would be installed at sensitive places, and GRP post would be brought onto the station premises.
