Mysuru: In what is likely to please every employee in the Mysuru division of South Western Railway (SWR), the City Railway Station has been adjudged the ninth cleanest among ‘A’ category stations – with an annual income between Rs 6 crore and Rs 50 crore. Besides jumping five places, the station was ranked 14th in 2017, the Mysuru city station also has the distinction of being the only ‘A’ category station from SWR to bag a slot in the top 10 ranks.Authorities at the Mysuru station said that maintaining cleanliness was paramount to them, and that the rank they were given was merely incidental to their commitment. The survey was conducted by the Quality Council of India, assessed as many as 407 A1 (annual revenue higher than Rs 50 crore), and A stations. Among the parameters used to mark the stations are citizen feedback, interviews with station managers and real-time observations.Additional manager of SWR’s Mysuru division Ajay Kumar Sinha attributed the achievement to several initiatives undertaken by the authorities including painting the station, regular cleaning and heightened awareness among passengers. “We will try to improve it further in the coming days,” Sinha told TOI.He added that the division was looking at improving the cleanliness quotient of other stations coming under its purview such as Shivamogga and Davanagere, with the latter leapfrogging all the way from 234th rank last year to the 74th in 2018. “Meanwhile, the Shivamogga station has jumped from the 154th place to the 137th,” Sinha added.President of the Federation of the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) Sudhakar S Shetty ascribed the achievement to the awareness among the citizens of Mysuru, coupled with the sincere efforts of the railway authorities. “There is still a lot of scope for improvement,” Shetty said.‘Video of passengers bathing besides platform goes viral’Railway authorities at the City Railway Station in Mysuru are known for taking stringent action against those found littering the premises, which is why a video of three tourists from Jaipur unabashedly bathing next to Platform One left plenty of people shocked.The incident in question happened on Tuesdsay, when the tourists, who disembarked at the station, with absolute brazenness decided to take a bath near the station. While this escaped the notice of the railway authorities initially, it came to their attention after the video went viral on various social media platforms. Personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) were summoned on Wednesday, and told to take action against those seen bathing on the station premises in the video.So far, three people have been booked under Railway Act 154 (B) for creating nuisance. The trio from Jaipur informed RPF personnel that, bathing on station premises was never frowned upon in North India. They subsequently assured the magistrate that they would not not commit such a mistake again.On the other hand, regular commuters have requested authorities to be more vigilant lest such incidents recur, and tarnish the station’s reputation for cleanliness.- R Uday Kumar

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