World | India
Foolproof security 'impossible'
Authorities say the sheer volume of passenger traffic on the city's suburban trains makes it impossible to conduct foolproof checks for explosives.
- By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 July 13, 2006
Mumbai: Authorities say the sheer volume of passenger traffic on the city's suburban trains makes it impossible to conduct foolproof checks for explosives.
"Any such check would result in accumulation of people resulting in a stampede," Rajkamal Rao, general manager, Western Railway, told a press conference here yesterday.
"We will have to find solutions and are therefore planning to take the assistance of expert agencies. Already, closed circuit TV has been installed in Churchgate, Mumbai Central and Dadar. Other major stations will also get surveillance equipment."
The WR chief admitted, though indirectly, there was a security failure but added that "the railways are the softest targets - whether by demonstrators stopping trains or terrorists setting off bombs."
Other security measures to be included are metal detectors, dog squads, locking trains when they are taken to the yard and increasing the scanty police personnel.
Presently, 1,450 railway police handle three million commuters on the WR. The deployment of more police would depend on the state government, he said.
On the poor crisis management, he said, "It is a difficult job to reach assistance at stations since this is the first time that a serial blast has occurred within a span of 15 minutes."
Each railway station has two stretchers and a first aid box, he said. Perhaps, that tells why the victims were carried out of blast sites in bedsheets given by local residents.
Despite the poor handling of the disaster, the railways should be lauded for getting the services back on track quickly. "Within 16 hours after the incident we were able to restore the services.
"WR's most challenging task was to remove the damaged trains. For this, we suspended rail traffic between Churchgate and Virar from 6.45pm on July 11 after the blasts."
And then, 5,000 rail workers were rushed to the affected areas to work on a war footing. Local trains started plying on the track at 9:55pm from Vasai Road to Virar, at 10:44pm from Churchgate to Mahalaxmi and at 11:05pm from Borivali to Goregaon.
"WR's local trains started running within three and a half hours after the blasts," he said.
In the first one hour, after obtaining police permission, the damaged compartments were removed from the tracks.
"All the technical constraints created by the bomb blasts were removed at 9.30am on July 12 and at 9:37am, rail operations were completely restored between Churchgate and Virar," he said.
He also added the WR has announced Rs500,000 (Dh41,667) as compensation to families of the dead.
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