MADURAI : Southern Railway banned its staff working at stations, yards, cabins, level crossing (LC) gates and control gates under the Madurai division from using WhatsApp during duty hours. The decision came after it was observed that the staff were spending time using ‘recreation and chatting apps’ during working hours.
In an communication issued by the Senior Divisional Operating Manager of the Madurai division on August 2 to all the station superintendents (SS), station masters (SM), traffic inspectors (TI) of all sections in Madurai division, the official said that during inspections by the officials, it was observed that many staff were using WhatsApp and other mobile applications indiscriminately by discarding safety of passing trains.
“Lack of concentration on safety aspects while on duty poses a potential threat to safety and paves the way to discarding safety procedures/instructions. Hence, all the staff working at stations, yards, cabins, LC gates and control office must desist from using
WhatsApp and other programmes (mobile applications) by using mobile phones while on duty,” the Senior Divisional Operating Manager said.
The move was justified stating that this would make the railway staff focus on safety aspect and prevent distraction.