The railways does not have a rule that specifies spitting as an offence; the state government wants that to change before the arrival of the swanky new trains under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). In a review of MUTP phases 1 and 2,the government has asked Central Railway and Western Railway to act strictly against anyone who spits on stations and compartments. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan stressed this before CR and WR officials in the meeting at the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) office at Churchgate,sources present at the metting said. Since fining people at stations is under the domain of the railways,the Chief Minister asked CR and WR to act strictly against people who commit the offence, said a railway official. Government officials had visited the Integral Coach Factory early this year and were toying with the idea of having the colour scheme of trains changed,so that the result of spitting (usually red) would be less visible than one can expect on the upcoming purple trains. The idea was,however,dropped as a lot has already been spent on the colour scheme,which has also been received positively by commuters. Instead,the officials decided,the government would ask the railways to act against people who spit. The government is also keen to make commuting in trains more hygienic. The Metro and Monorail are due to start early next year,and these are likely to pay more attention to hygiene. In the absence of a rule against spitting,the railways book those who spit under various offences. Since there is no mention of spitting as an offence under the Indian Railway Act,we book people for damaging railway property and causing inconvenience to other passengers, said Shriniwas Mudgerikar,chief spokesperson,CR. We are adopting a strategy of making people aware about the ill-effects of spitting. The railways spends crores in cleaning trains and stations stained by spitting.
