HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 22: NF Railway is actively working to eliminate illegal activities from its station premises and has been conducting regular drives against unauthorised hawkers/vendors, smokers, and litterers. Over the past two months, a series of drives were carried out across the five divisions of NF Railway, resulting in the collection of Rs 10.54 lakhs in fines. A total of 4661 individuals were prosecuted under the relevant sections of The Railways Act, 1989.
In April and May 2023, fines amounting to Rs 3.20 lakhs were collected from unauthorised hawkers/vendors, leading to the prosecution of 1077 individuals. Additionally, fines of Rs 1.74 lakhs and Rs 5.59 lakhs were imposed on individuals caught smoking and littering at station premises, respectively. This led to the prosecution of 926 smokers and 2658 litterers.
The concerted efforts have resulted in 75 major railway stations being declared free from illegal hawking. Among these, 14 stations including Katihar, Siliguri, and New Jalpaiguri under the Katihar division, 14 stations including Guwahati, Kamakhya, and Lumding under the Lumding division, 18 stations including Kokrajhar, New Coochbehar, and New Alipurduar under the Alipurduar division, 13 stations including Dibrugarh, New Tinsukia, and Mariani under the Tinsukia division, and 16 stations including Rangiya, Goalpara Town, and New Bongaigaon under the Rangiya division have successfully eliminated illegal hawkers/vendors. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) will continue its efforts to maintain these stations as hawker-free zones, ensuring improved food quality for passengers and significantly enhancing public sanitation at railway stations in alignment with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission).
