PALAKKAD: Every day, millions of passengers board trains expecting railway stations to be clean, food sold on platforms to be safe and public spaces to meet basic standards of hygiene. Behind that expectation is an often invisible workforce responsible for sanitation and public health across the railway network.
For nearly three decades, one of Southern Railway’s most demanding public health assignments was carried out by a woman who entered the profession when it was considered unsuitable for women. Today, as K G Sindhu leaves Shoranur for Chennai following her promotion as assistant health officer, she remains the only woman holding that position across Southern Railway’s six divisions – Palakkad, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Salem and Thiruvanthapuram.
Sindhu’s journey mirrors not only the evolution of railway sanitation but also the gradual entry of women into a profession that was once almost exclusively male.
When Sindhu appeared for her recruitment interview before senior Southern Railway officials in Bengaluru in February 1999, one question stood out. “They asked me whether I was afraid of becoming the first woman to work as a health inspector. The post had never been held by a woman before,” she recalls.
The concern reflected the nature of the job at the time. Health inspectors were expected to spend long hours in the field, inspecting stations, railway colonies, yards and tracks, supervising sanitation workers and ensuring compliance with public health standards. The work demanded extensive travel, irregular hours and constant outdoor inspections – conditions widely perceived as unsuitable for women.
“I simply told them, ‘Let’s see, sir.’ My only ambition was to join the Railways,” she says.
That appointment made her Southern Railway’s first woman health inspector.
Contrary to the apprehensions surrounding her appointment, Sindhu says acceptance came naturally within the organisation. “My colleagues were supportive from the very beginning. I was never made to feel different because I was a woman. They treated me as a professional, and that gave me the confidence to do my work.”
A graduate of Sree Narayana College, Nattika, Sindhu pursued a diploma in Health Inspection in Karnataka with a single objective – to secure a career in Indian Railways.
A 50-year-old mother of two children, Sindhu has now spent 27 years in a department whose work largely remains unnoticed unless something goes wrong.
“Health inspectors form the backbone of the Railways’ public health system. Their responsibilities extend far beyond station cleanliness. They supervise sanitation contracts, monitor waste management, inspect food stalls and catering units, ensure drinking water quality, enforce public health regulations and oversee hygiene standards across railway establishments,” she explains.
The transformation of Indian Railways over the past two decades has significantly altered the nature of their work.
Mechanised cleaning systems, scientific waste disposal, stricter food safety protocols and upgraded sanitation infrastructure have modernised railway hygiene management. Sindhu has witnessed every stage of that transition.
The visible cleanliness of railway stations – frequently showcased in social media videos highlighting Kerala’s improved railway infrastructure – is the outcome of coordinated efforts involving sanitation workers, supervisors and health inspectors who operate largely away from public attention. While the profession itself has changed, its gender profile has changed even more dramatically.
When Sindhu joined in 1999, she stood alone. Today, women constitute more than half of the nearly 30 health inspectors in Palakkad Division alone, reflecting a profession that has steadily opened its doors to women after 2008.
Yet her latest promotion has revealed another reality. Despite the increasing number of women entering the cadre, Sindhu continues to be the only woman serving as assistant health officer anywhere in Southern Railway. She will join in the new role in Chennai on Monday.
A resident of Shoranur, Sindhu feels that the new role would again be challenging. “But, today I have 27 years of experience and hundreds of railway officers and employees to back me,” she concludes.
