GUILHERME ALMEIDA
It was around 3.40 pm when a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) of the Goa Police landed at the Margao Railway Station with sniffer dogs and armed policemen in a tow. The mission was to detect bombs, if any, planted in and around the railway station. While the anonymous call finally turned out a hoax, security at the Margao Railway Station – considered a soft and open terror target given Goa’s status as a tourist destination – is back under close scanner.
Otherwise, just consider this. While the bomb disposal squad was carrying out the search operation around the station premise, realisation soon dawned that the Margao Railway Station no longer played host to the metal detectors, installed with much fan fare to tone up the station security. All the eight metal detectors procured by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) are lying unused for want of police personnel to man them. Men-in-uniform are often absent at the entry point to the station platforms from the footbridge due to the manpower constraints.
That’s not all. The luggage scan unit docked right at the railway station entrance is no more in use, thanks to the manpower shortage. And, the men-in-uniform only make periodic presence at the station at the time of train arrival or departure – again for want of sufficient manpower.
Says a senior RPF officer: “We are totally helpless. The metal detectors have been removed and kept in safe custody because we have no personnel to man them. Similar is the case with the luggage scanner which is not put to use because of shortage of personnel”.
Inquiries have revealed that both the RPF and the Konkan Railway Police Station have been hit with gross manpower shortage, leaving the two agencies with any personnel to man the metal detectors or the luggage scan unit. A RPF officer claimed that the depleted ranks in the force have taken a toll on policing at the Margao Railway Station. “We have hardly 15 personnel at our disposal. Nearly 50-60 per cent of the vacancies have not been filled up till date. Some of the personnel are overburdened and are waiting to go back to the Indian Railways. We need additional hands, at least minimum 25 personnel, to tone up the security at Margao Railway Station”, the official said.
Senior officials of the Konkan Railway Police Station echoed similar sentiments on the manpower shortage. “We need minimum 50 personnel to plug the 8-9 points in around the Margao Railway Station. The KR Police Station strength needs an urgent review before it is too late”, remarked a senior Goa Police officer.
