Simhastha-2028: GRP Indore Yet To Begin Railway Preparations For Mega Religious Event

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After a recent railways co-ordination conference held at PHQ here, it came to light that preparations related to Simhastha fete, in which Government Railway Police (GRP) Indore unit has to play a crucial role, have not even reached the primary stage.

The GRP Indore unit has been functioning without an SP for many months. Besides this, two to three DSP-rank officers and a large number of personnel from other ranks are also unavailable.

The unit has to prepare a blueprint for future action and put several measures in place including projection of additional force requirements, role-specific training, co-ordination meetings with other agencies and logistical arrangements. However, no step has been taken so far.

The requirements

After the conference, several requirements to be fulfilled by Indore GRP unit were flagged. Some of them are as follows:

Assessment of number of temporary GRP police stations, chowkis and help desks required in the mela kshetra. The district executive force (DEF) and Ujjain civil police have planned to create 80 temporary police stations.

Additional personnel required to manage these temporary police stations and chowkis.

Barracks required for personnel near temporary police stations and chowkis.

Training of personnel and designation of area-wise and sector-wise roles.

Co-ordination with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), railways and DEF units of Ujjain, Indore and Dewas police.

Provision for an integrated command and control centre for GRP.

Appointment of one GRP nodal officer from each state and creation of a social media group of state nodal officers.

Blueprint for crowd segregation to ensure a sudden crowd surge does not reach railway stations.

Passenger holding areas and passenger amenities.

Robust platform security with separate entry and exit arrangements.

Quote

A file regarding the requirements of GRP Indore unit has been submitted to the Director General of Police (DGP) for perusal. Directions have been sought to fill vacant positions in the Indore GRP unit and provide additional personnel at the earliest so that training can begin for their expected role during Simhastha - 2028.

Raja Babu Singh, Additional Director General of Police (rail)