The Indian Railways will soon install 100 feet tricolour flags in 75 busy railway stations all throughout the country, of which 7 will be installed in Mumbai alone. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
As per the order directed by the Railway Board, concerned authorities have been instructed to complete this installation by the end of next month. “The Board has decided to provide a monumental flag (of at least 100-ft height) at all the erstwhile ‘A1’ class railway stations. The work should be completed by December 2018,” says the order issued by Vivek Saxena, the Railway Board’s executive director.
The seven A1 category railway stations in Mumbai are Bandra Terminus, Dadar, Mumbai Central, Thane, Kalyan, the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The rest of the 68 stations fall under other cities and zonal railways.
The order further states – “The flag should be provided in circulating area of the stations and at a suitable place. It should be provided with focused lights. The security and safety of the flag shall rest with Railway Protection Force (RPF).” Work for this project had reportedly already begun, the railway officials are identifying spots at the stations for the installations. The charges for the installation will be borne under the ‘Soft upgrades improvement at stations’ umbrella.
However, passenger representatives have expressed their concerns over the move. Speaking to PTI, Ratan Poddar, member of the Zonal Railways Consultative Committee said, the priority of the Railways should be upgrading the passenger amenities and installation of flags is certainly not related to that. I don’t think the mere installation of flags will instil a sense of patriotism in people.”
