Jaipur on track: North India gets first all women railway station

Gandhi Nagar railway station on Monday became the first all women railway station in north India and second in Indian railways.

The station has about 40 staff — right from the station master to the porter, all are women. These women will be working round the clock in shifts like any other railway station.

Angel Stella, Saroj kumari Dhakad, Neelam and Geeta Devi have been deputed here at assistant station masters.

"I am happy to be posted here, women are no less, this step shows that," said Stella, while speaking to the media. She also said that she had just completed a year in service on Sunday itself.

Majority of the women personnel were deputed a few days back, while the rest were already posted at the station.

To ensure safety, the station has been equipped fully with CCTV cameras. A changing room is also being made.

An internal whatsapp group for working operations and any emergency condition has been made of these staffers.

More importantly, a sanitary napkin vending machine has also been installed at this railway station.

The all-women station was general manager NWR TP Singh's brain child. Speaking to the media, Singh informed that it was thought that after Matunga, which was made women only railway station, a station in Rajasthan should also be made women only. Since DRM of Jaipur is a woman (Saumya Mathur), it's an added advantage, Singh said.

The Gandhi Nagar railway station is an important one on the Jaipur-Delhi route and caters to a large number of colonies right from Tonk Road colonies to people coming from as far as Sanganer, Jagatpura, etc, to take trains from here. 25 trains stop at this station.

TIME TO ACT

The women personnel got into action on Monday itself. Ticket checker Vandana Sharma and Apoorva Varshney fined a person for Rs 260 for not carrying a platform ticket and imposed a fine of Rs 200 on a passenger for making the platform dirty.