ARUNACHAL

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel of N.F. Railway had intercepted and recovered contraband items such as foreign made cigarette and cannabis worth about Rs. 20.01 lakh and a rare species of tortoise during checking at station and in trains during the period from 25th November, 2019 to 5th January, 2020 and apprehended o­ne person involved in the illegal transportation of the tortoise.

A team of RPF/Guwahati conducted checking at Guwahati Railway Station o­n November 27, 2019 and recovered 800 packets of foreign made cigarette worth about Rs. 16 lakh. The recovered contrabands were handed over to Assistant Commissioner of Customs Division, Guwahati for further disposal.

In separate operation o­n that day, RPF team of Rangiya jointly with CPDS team of Rangiya conducted drive in the Train No. 22411 DN (Arunachal Express) from Rangapara North to Rangiya and recovered 54 kgs cannabis valued at Rs. 2.16 lakh.

In another case o­n November 26, 2019, RPF team of Katihar conducted checking in Train No.55770 DN (Katihar - Malda Court passenger) between Kumedpur and Harishchandrapur Railway Station and apprehended o­ne person with recovery of o­ne rare species of tortoise weighing about 8 kgs. Later, the tortoise and the person carrying it were handed over to Forest Range Officer, Malda, West Bengal for further course of action.

On December 7, 2019, RPF of Agartala conducted checking in train No. 01665 Habibganj- Agartala Special at Agartala Railway Station and recovered 12 kgs cannabis worth about Rs. 72 thousand. o­n that day, RPF/Lumding conducted checking in train No. 22502 DN New Tinsukia- SBC Express at Lumding Railway Station and recovered 6 kgs cannabis worth about Rs. 36 thousand. Recovered contrabands were later handed over to Excise Department for further action.

On December 9, 2019, RPF personnel of Katihar jointly with officials of Excise Department, Katihar conducted a drive at Katihar Railway Station and recovered contraband liquor valued about Rs. 5100/-. It may be mentioned here that Katihar station is in Bihar which is a dry state.

Again, RPF personnel conducted checking at New Alipurduar Railway Station o­n January 2, 2020 and recovered 12 kgs cannabis worth about Rs. 72 thousand.

RPF of NFR also rescued as many as 72 minor children during the period from 25th November, 2019 to 5th January, 2020 from different stations and trains and handed over them to their respective guardians or NGOs.

Railways have been undergoing constant changes for last 5 years under the able leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Railway Minister. During the last five years many tough decisions have been taken and Indian Railways have managed to come out of the image of an organization impervious to change.

The progressive decisions taken have resulted into:

1.Merger of Railway budget with Union budget.

2.Different corners from Arunachal Pradesh to Vaishno Devi connected through railway network.

3.Vande Bharat – the first semi high speed train with new technology introduced.

4.9000 un-manned LC gates removed for more safety and speed.

5.5500 stations provided with free wifi.

6.Zero passenger death during this financial year due to increased emphasis o­n safety (first time in the 166 years history of the railways).

7.Allowing competitive operators to run trains. 

8.To strengthen field operation, senior officers from Railway Board transferred to field.

9.Unification of eight Group - A services into o­ne centralised service for better co-ordination.

10.Re-organising the Railway Board into a linear structure and also by including independent members from outside field like industry, management, economics etc.

In a quest for reforms and transform the Indian Railways, the historic and bold decisions taken by the Union Government  by breaking the 150 years old legacy will mark the beginning of a new Railway with a coherent vision for better user experience in every service provided by Railways in future.