Fearing For Their Safety, Night Staff At All-Woman Banasvadi Railway Station Lock Themselves In Cabin

A week ago, the Bengaluru division of South Western Railway (SWR) went ahead and turned the Banaswadi Railway Station in the city into an all-woman station, but barely ten days later, the women staff aren’t too keen on working here.

According to a report in The New Indian Express, highlights the acute lack of Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Police Force (RPF) outposts at the station and also the situation at night, when the station becomes a regular den for drunkards and other anti-social elements.

An official said that a woman station master on duty locks herself inside her cabin at night to safeguard herself. While she does need to step out as and when a train arrives, she goes back in to her cabin soon after departure.

Police agencies on the other hand claim that there are two women home guards and one woman constable posted at the station during the day while a male home guard and male constable are posted at night. However, there are claims that nobody has seen them on duty at night.

On an average, 21 trains stop at Banaswadi in a day, but none stop between midnight and 4.30 am.