NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General has flagged gaps in sanitation and minimum essential amenities at 458 out of 512 railway stations, including presence of E coli bacteria in water coolers at eight stations.The CAG report on “passenger amenities and sanitation at non-suburban railway stations”, presented in Parliament last week, said bacteriological analysis of drinking water was not carried out at 59 stations in six zones.“Water sample from water coolers was positive for E coli at two stations (Coimbatore and Palakkad junctions) in Southern Railway, one station (Hyderabad) in South Central Railway, four stations (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bhiwandi Road, Kalyan and Lonavala) in Central Railway, and one station (Madhupur) in Eastern Railway,” the report said.It said the results of drinking water samples collected from taps at 49 stations in eight zones during 2022-23 and 56 stations in nine zones during 2023-24 indicated presence of coliforms bacteria.Following the CAG report, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and top officials held a review meeting. In a statement, Railways said a new “Tank to Tap” water filtration system will be implemented at 20,000 locations. It said water tanks would be replaced and regular water testing carried out at source and outlet points. There will be centralised monitoring and accountability, and scheduled cleaning and maintenance of storage tanks.CAG also said 458 out of 512 selected stations were deficient in provision of minimum essential amenities. It found stations like CSMT, Howrah, Sealdah, New Delhi and Mumbai Central deficient in seating arrangements, sanitary facilities, dustbins and electronic train indicator boards, among others.
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The report, after analysing Passenger Amenities Management System, found deficiencies in provision of amenities against norms, such as shortfall of toilets at 201 stations, urinals at 403 stations, and water taps at 2,035 stations, among others.
