BENGALURU: Bengaluru Railway Division went ahead and empowered its women staffers in the eyes of the world by setting up Karnataka’s first all-women railway station at Banaswadi on March 8. But just under ten days, the women staffers are terrified about working there.
The reason: Let alone the absence of Railway Police Force (RPF) or Government Railway Police (GRP) outposts, there is not even a semblance of private security for these women. And it is a regular hangout for drunkards and anti-social elements, with these women rendered vulnerable to any untoward incident.
One of the woman station masters on duty literally has to lock herself in her cabin every night out of fear of outsiders entering, informed an official.
“However, she still needs to step out when a train is approaching. But she gets back into her cabin after the train leaves,” he said.
Another woman staffer was in tears when she heard she was being sent to Banaswadi, saying: “How can I work there in the nights?”
One woman “fell sick” after being posted there and has been out of action for the last five days with a male staffer now posted on an emergency basis in her place.
There is total confusion among Railways as well as the state and GRP about the actual security given at Banaswadi Railway station. One top railway official told The New Indian Express that discussions have been held earlier to post RPF personnel here.“I have seen women RPF personnel walking around the station in the daytime.
But I do not know about the night hours,” he said. Another official said that railway police from Baiyappanahalli railway station keep coming around to keep a check on Banaswadi railway station, apart from beat police at Banaswadi police station.
GRP inspector at Baiyappanahalli claimed, “We have two women home guards and one female constable posted there during the daytime and one male home guard and one male constable posted during nights.” However, it is a mystery that no one sees them on night duty.
According to insiders, the original plan was to make Kengeri an all-woman railway station, but that was later changed to Banaswadi. An average of 21 trains stop at Banaswadi daily, but post midnight till 4.30 am, trains do not halt here. Neither the Public Relations Officer nor the Divisional Railway Manager of the Division was willing to comment on this issue. The Senior Divisional Security Commissioner and RPF repeatedly cut calls made by the reporter.
All-women, really?
Three women clerks to take care of unreserved tickets, three pointswomen and three women station masters, apart from a woman railway clerk to book reserved tickets were meant to be posted here.
But the reporter still found male pointsmen around. So, the logic of making this an all-woman railway station too gets compromised.
‘Staff forced to work here’
Casual chats revealed that the women posted here are unhappy and “scared”. One staffer said, "No woman employee wants to be posted here. We are forcibly posted at the station.” Asked about any specific issue she said, “When you get down at Jai Bharati Nagar bus stop, you need to walk 1 km crossing a slum area to reach the railway station. If you are on the night shift or have to go early morning, it is very risky.”
Asked if the station as such had any problem, she said, “There are no security staff posted here at nights but during the daytime they are there. But we have to do a 9 pm to 7 am shift in our job.”