BENGALURU: In line with a nationwide initiative to upgrade the security apparatus at all A-1 railway stations across the country, the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) and Yeshwantpur stations are set to be monitored extensively using technology. A major security plan has been readied for the KSR station and work is set to begin this month.
There are eight permitted entry routes to the KSR station which witnesses a footfall of nearly 2.5 lakh each day. The station has already been notified in the ‘high alert’ category after the Pulwama attacks. Huge vertical fibre doors from the roof of the station to the platform with openings only at train doors, barricading between every pair of railway tracks, smart CCTV cameras with face identification technology that run on solar energy are among the important features of the plan, a senior security official told The New Indian Express.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and top railway officials of the Bengaluru Railway Division have been conducting joint inspections this week at the station before the final plan is put in place.
The City station already has 71 CCTVs in place. “They are of an older version and the pictures are of low resolution. We will replace them with modern ones with face identification technology. The database of all kinds of offenders will be uploaded onto these cameras. Even if the face of someone tallies 60% with the database given, it will immediately send an alert to the control room,” the official said.
The barricading of the areas between tracks will put an end to damage of railway tracks. “Miscreants remove fish plates or place boulders in tracks in attempts to derail trains. This is a precautionary step to prevent them in future,” the official said. The RPF is now in the process of sealing all unauthorised entries through which entry to the station is carried out. The plan is expected to be fully in place by December this year. “Many enter the station premises unauthorisedly and travel without tickets too. Keeping tab on them will ensure the revenue of the Division gets a boost,” the official added.
A portion of the funds earmarked for the Bangalore Railway Division for infrastructure work work will be utilised for the security plan.
RPF wants public to be its eyes and ears
The Railway Protection Force, Bengaluru Division, has recently launched an online ‘Operation Firefly’ campaign urging passengers to be its eyes and ears to alert them to all happenings inside trains and railway stations. “Fireflies are literally found everywhere. Similarly, passengers can be spotted across the railway network. Hence, this operation which relies on passengers has been billed accordingly,” said a senior RPF official. The twitter handle @rpfswrsbc calls upon passengers to tweet to them immediately if any one spots or hears of any unauthorised activity or sights anything suspicious immediately.