Scanners at rly stations weren’t a necessity

MANASI PHADKE: The commissioner of railway safety is under the ministry of civil aviation. Does this hamper work and do you feel the need to have the commissioner under the ministry of railways?

SJ: The present arrangement works well for us as the minister can take decisions at his own pace independent of the railways. If it (the commissioner) was under the railways, there could be pressure to get proposals cleared soon.

SWATEE KHER: CR has huge heritage property, how do you maintain it and what sort of funding do you get?

SJ: The CST building is the only working heritage structure and it doesn't need UNESCO tag for maintenance. I sit in the office and hundreds of commuters book tickets at the counters under a unique tiled dome. We are proud of our heritage and efforts have been made to conserve it. We have deep pockets.

SUKANYA SHETTY: In the recent past, we have seen several graft cases registered against railway officials. CR had an embarrassing moment when its employees were named in the railway recruitment board scam. What mechanism is in place to ensure transparency?

SJ: On every ticket we have numbers displayed, making it easy for the public to reach us and alert us about corruption. It is a major problem the whole country is engulfed in, not just the railways. We do have a unit that looks into such complaints and as per the need, these grievances are redressed. If need be, a case is also registered. But to my knowledge, no case has been registered against CR officials in last few years.

SRINATH RAO: The railway ministry has installed bio-toilets on certain trains, do you plan to extend the facility to stations?

SJ: We have installed bio-toilets on Mahanagari Express. About building bio-toilets at stations, we have left the decision to whoever wins the contract.

... contd.

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