Mumbai: Western Railway (WR) has stepped up efforts to tackle the presence of stray dogs at its stations in Mumbai by assigning specific officials to monitor and address the issue. The decision comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's directions concerning stray dogs at public places with heavy footfall, including railway stations.
Under the new arrangement, station masters and station superintendents will act as nodal officers for their respective stations. They will be responsible for monitoring the premises, responding to complaints and coordinating with civic authorities whenever stray dogs are found on railway property, reported Hindustan Times.
The officials have also been asked to take preventive measures to stop stray dogs from entering station premises. They will maintain details of complaints received and action taken, with compliance reports to be submitted to the divisional authorities when required. The names and contact details of the designated officials are also expected to be displayed at stations to make it easier for commuters to raise complaints.
The initiative follows the Supreme Court's directions issued last year for dealing with stray dogs at places such as railway stations, bus terminals, hospitals and schools. Western Railway later issued an internal circular, around 10 days ago, to stations under its Mumbai Division.
Railway officials stated that the new system is intended to ensure that complaints are dealt with locally instead of waiting for coordination between several departments. The station-level nodal officers will directly communicate with the concerned BMC ward officials for necessary action.
WR has also approached around 25-30 BMC ward officials serving areas along the Western Line between Churchgate and Borivali. Once dogs are identified and caught from railway premises, the civic administration will be responsible for taking them into its custody and arranging shelters, according to railway officials.
The railway administration is also planning to maintain station-wise data on stray dog sightings and complaints. This information will be shared with the BMC to help authorities monitor the problem and assess the action taken.
With designated officers now overseeing the issue at individual stations, Western Railway expects the mechanism to make reporting faster and improve coordination with the civic body, particularly at crowded stations where the presence of stray dogs can raise safety concerns for commuters.
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