Mumbai blasts: SWR Blr Division beefs up security

Bangalore, July 13 (UNI) The South Western Railway (SWR), Bangalore Division, has stepped up security in railway stations by deploying 100 personnel belonging to the Special Armed Railway Protection Force in the wake of the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai on Tuesday, which claimed over 190 lives.

Informing this to reporters here today, SWR Bangalore Division General Manager T N Perti said about 500 RPF personnel had also been posted on duty in the stations. Dog squads had been pressed into service and bogies of all incoming and outgoing trains were checked thoroughly, he added.

He said specially trained staff were monitoring movement of passengers through Close Circuit TVs (CCTV), installed with 40 cameras. The Bangalore Division was the second in the country to possess CCTV facility.

To a question, he said the new line between Bijapur-Bagalkot would be ready by next month as the work had already been completed and trail runs carried out.

Mr Perti said various measures were being implemented at a cost of Rs four crore to provide better facilities to passengers in view of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad declaring 2006 as the 'Year of Passengers.' Earlier, the General Manager inaugurated a Cyber Cafe in Bangalore Station to provide unique Broadband experience and roaming facility to the travelling public. The passengers could use the facility through RailTel pre-paid cards which could be purchased at any of the Cyber Cafes of RailTel.

Sixteen PC terminals along with Web-Camera, common printer, one VOIP telephone for making low cost ISD calls, Scanner and CD writer had also been provided in the Cyber Cafe. This was done as per the Railway Board approval to set up Cyber Cafes in 82 stations in under the first phase. In Karnataka, Bangalore, Mysore and Hubli were selected for setting up the cafes, he added.

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