New Delhi: Amid increasing attempts to sabotage railway tracks or derail trains across the country, the railways plans to rope in farmers, vilagers and herdsmen as “Track Mitra” to monitor the railway tracks to curb any nefarious act.
Sources in railways said the Track Mitras would work closely with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and hold meetings at regular intervals to provide vital inputs about any suspicious activities near tracks. For this purpose, around 170 Track Mitras have been approached in the North Eastern Railways Zone.
To ensure the safety of passengers and trains, the railway has already started conducting joint patrolling with RPF personnel and engineers on the tracks to keep a check on any attempt to sabotage or derailment, a senior railway official told ETV Bharat.
The RPF personnel will prepare a list of people who live or have agricultural lands near railway tracks as they can easily monitor the activities and report to the security personnel about anything suspicious.
In addition, the railways is also actively monitoring tracks under community policing in which authorities are getting help from villagers, gram pradhans, and students in keeping vigil on suspicious activities near tracks.
The railways authorities in coordination with local police are also investigating and scanning the dossiers of criminals who were previously involved in similar cases. A list of such criminals has been readied, a senior railway official said.
The RPF has been keeping a close vigil and security personnel have activated the network of informers and sources to collect inputs about suspicious persons to prevent miscreant activities on the track.
Scraps of rail lines, sleepers, boulders and other objects lying abandoned near the tracks are being cleared after strict instructions from senior officials.
Also Read:
