GUWAHATI, Sept 16 - Indian Railways has put emphasis on maintaining cleanliness and hygiene on trains and other railway premises and as part of it, all catering stalls in Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone have been asked to use only recyclable plastic for packaging of food.
This was stated by NFR General Manager Sanjive Roy here today.
A campaign to promote awareness about cleanliness was started today in NFR as part of the countrywide drive to educate people through IEC (Information, Education and Communication) activities about the use of bio-toilets, resisting use of plastic on railway premises and observing good sanitation habits by avoiding open defecation, among other things, for keeping the railway tracks clean.
Roy said that authorised vendors at railway stations are being educated about avoiding single-use plastic.
Apart from providing bio-toilets on trains, NFR has also provided separate dustbins for bio and non-bio degradable items on railway premises for use by passengers. Railway stations are being cleaned regularly. Cleanliness of some important stations is also being monitored by CCTVs. And all the 664 railway catering stalls in NFR have already been asked to use only recyclable plastic for packaging of food with effect from September 15. All these efforts are being undertaken so that everyone acts in a direction to live in a clean and hygienic environment. As part of the Swachhta Pakhwara, each day, up to September 30, will be observed targeting monitoring and improvement of different aspects related to cleanliness and hygiene, Roy said.
The NFR General Manager said that as railway tracks are spread throughout the country touching every nook and corner, the Railways can play a much bigger role in promoting cleanliness.
For this purpose NFR has already started awareness campaign through display advertisements, streetplays, banners, posters, audio jingles through FM channels and campaign through social media platforms throughout the zone so that all sections of people can be reached out to. A massive �Shramdaan� will be organised on September 17 by the railway fraternity on railway premises where retired railway personnel and members of railway employees� families, apart from other stakeholders will participate. Emphasis will be on collecting waste plastic from places like platforms, trains, tracks, hospitals, schools and colonies, said Roy.
