Railway moves to beef up security system

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has taken a move to increase its security system in all its stations through installation of luggage and body scanners amid failure to check smuggling including illegal drug trading through different train routes, sources concerned said.
The move, according to them, was taken following recommendations from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Railways to ensure safe journey of the train commuters.
The BR network has long been used as a safe route for trading illegal items, including drugs, from different points - especially the station vicinities in border areas - due to failure of the authorities concerned and the law enforcing agencies in managing security that often results in sufferings of the passengers.
Although these kinds of traders and smugglers get into the trains in between the railway stations by way of stopping train services with the help of a section of unscrupulous BR staff, the sources said, the railway authorities considers that the scanners would help identify unchecked baggage.
Officials said the Ministry of Railways formed a committee to recommend necessary directives to install security scanners and its management as it would also create a need for manpower for the BR to keep those operative 24 hours a day.
"The BR has now a total of 460 stations, so we will conduct a survey as to which stations need the service first and where it is less needed," said a senior official preferring not to be named.
He said initial decision was taken to keep the service under the BR's security section for maintaining those operations round the clock and submit a proposal for operating system of the scanners after conducting necessary survey.
It was informed that the committee, formed with an Additional Secretary, would also submit an overall plan on the project and it will include the implementation cost.
The officials said a meeting in this connection on Thursday estimated the cost for installing the scanners at around Tk 300 million.
When asked about the ways to check boarding of trains by illegal traders since railway stations across the country are mostly open, an official said the meeting also discussed about the issue and recommended for maintaining a security belt in and around each station by erecting boundary and keeping train services closed during journey.
He, however, said the meeting asked the committee to address all these issues during their survey and place recommendations before the Ministry soon.
smunima@yahoo.com