Cleanliness drives at railway stns mark Day 1 of ‘Swachh Saptah’
Vigorous cleaning sessions at Charbagh Railway Station and other places marked the first day of the ‘Swachh Saptah’ (part of Swachh Bharat Mission) on Saturday. Lucknow Junction and the premises of the Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) also witnessed cleanliness initiatives on the day, on the orders of the railway board.
AK Lahoti, divisional railway manager (DRM), NR, led the initiative at Charbagh station. Other top officers, including senior divisional commercial manager (DCM), Shivendra Shukla, and divisional commercial manager (DCM), Amitabh Kumar cleaned up the station premises.
“Our goal is to motivate the masses. It’s our property and it’s our collective responsibility to keep the station premises and the trains clean,” said Lahoti.
Other than the officers, volunteers from various local NGOs, including Sant Nirankari Charitable Foundation and Ehsaas, and members of the railway’s civil defence and students also took part in the drive.
At Lucknow Junction, officials of North Eastern Railways (NER) launched the sanitation drive. NGOs and other charitable bodies were also be roped in to make the initiative a success.
Sanjay Yadav, chief public relations officer (CPRO) said, “Cleanliness week was observed in all the three divisions of NER – Izzatnagar, Varanasi and Lucknow. “In the following days, the drive will also focus on cleaning of water booths, improving quality of drinking water, cleaning up the drains, ensuring adequate number of dustbins and arranging for garbage disposal, checking food stalls and several other activities,” he added.
A cleanliness drive was also conducted at the RDSO Colony. Officers including the additional director general, RDSO, JS Sondhi and others inspected various offices in the RDSO administrative building and cleaned up the premises. They also visited the store depot, the fatigue testing lab, the electrical maintenance section and the signal lab, to check cleanliness levels and lay stress on sanitation efforts.