It’s a dog’s life for railway sniffers
City on high alert, sniffer dogs work 12-hour shifts to secure Gujarat’s largest rly station. And this for a pittance of Rs 4,365 which is not enough to buy them food
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, September 12, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2011091220110912021521431c0d22582/It%E2%80%99s-a-dog%E2%80%99s-life-for-railway-sniffers-.html)
Security at the Ahmedabad Railway Station has gone to the dogs, literally. The trouble is that there are not enough of them to secure the station at Kalupur. And ‘working like a dog’ takes on a whole new meaning if one notices the plight of the two sniffer dogs manning the largest railway station in Gujarat.
With the city put on high alert following multiple terror threats, the dogs are being run off their paws, trying to cover the station that sees an average of 100 trains and over 1 lakh footfalls daily.
Till six months ago, the Ahmedabad railway station had three dogs — Wendy, Candy and Dolly. After they died, Jock (German Shepherd) and Sunny (Labrador) were transferred from Sabarmati and Maninagar railway stations to Kalupur.
Work them less, pay more
Trained to nose out anything from a hidden handgun to a cache of dynamite, the dogs are employed to check important trains like Rajdhani Express or Ashram Express when they arrive at the platform. They are also pressed into service when authorities receive a bomb threat call.
Usually, on an eight-hour shift, Sunny and Jock are now working overtime to ensure that the entire station is safe for passengers. Requesting anonymity, a senior official revealed the dogs were working 12-hour shifts everyday.
And this for a pittance of Rs 4,365. “That is the salary that the dogs receive. It is not enough to buy meat, eggs and milk for them. They need to be worked less and paid more,” he said.
Vulnerable stations
“We need at least 12 sniffer dogs for the Ahmedabad station. But we have to make do with just two dogs. If something happens to them, we do not know what we will do. It is just not possible for one dog to check such a huge station,” the official said, adding, “Meanwhile, this leaves Sabarmati and Maninagar stations vulnerable. With the city growing in all directions, more and more passengers are using these two stations to commute. We need dogs for these stations, too.”
RPF Divisional Security Commissioner (Ahmedabad) Sumiti Shandlya accepted there is a shortage of sniffer dogs. “We have received permission to get 10 more canines. We will have to issue tenders and get the puppies. Then, it will take us at least a year and a half to train the pups and bring them into the field,” he said.
The authorities plan to hire dogs from a private security firm to secure the station in the meantime. “We have sent a proposal to the higher authorities and expect an approval soon. Following this, we will issue a tender for the process,” Shandlya added. The official said, “The process is so time-consuming that we are not likely to get any dogs this year.”
Plans on paper
The railways spend the most on security and safety of passengers. After the blasts in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the authorities drew up an integrated security plan three years ago. These included parcel scanners, sniffer dogs and CCTV cameras at every nook and cranny of the railway station so that it could be monitored from anywhere, including headquarters in Mumbai and Delhi. The plan was that every move made inside the station would be monitored by CCTVs. Lack of funds means these ideas remain only on paper.
A peek inside the CCTV control room reveals that the cameras already installed provide blurry images which make it impossible to identify faces or detect if any parcel has been left behind. Metal detectors were to be upgraded to the standard of explosive detectors. ‘’The hand-held and metal detectors cannot detect an explosive like RDX,” said an official. The most vulnerable spot is the parcel office. ‘’In the eventuality of explosive-laden parcels there is no contingency plan. There is no checking and scanning of parcels,” the official added.
Shandlya said, “Shortage of funds mean that work on integrated plan for Ahmedabad will be delayed by a year. If the western region receives funds next year, security work will be initiated in Ahmedabad, Surat, Godhra and Ujjain.”
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, September 12, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2011091220110912021521431c0d22582/It%E2%80%99s-a-dog%E2%80%99s-life-for-railway-sniffers-.html)
Security at the Ahmedabad Railway Station has gone to the dogs, literally. The trouble is that there are not enough of them to secure the station at Kalupur. And ‘working like a dog’ takes on a whole new meaning if one notices the plight of the two sniffer dogs manning the largest railway station in Gujarat.
With the city put on high alert following multiple terror threats, the dogs are being run off their paws, trying to cover the station that sees an average of 100 trains and over 1 lakh footfalls daily.
Till six months ago, the Ahmedabad railway station had three dogs — Wendy, Candy and Dolly. After they died, Jock (German Shepherd) and Sunny (Labrador) were transferred from Sabarmati and Maninagar railway stations to Kalupur.
Work them less, pay more
Trained to nose out anything from a hidden handgun to a cache of dynamite, the dogs are employed to check important trains like Rajdhani Express or Ashram Express when they arrive at the platform. They are also pressed into service when authorities receive a bomb threat call.
Usually, on an eight-hour shift, Sunny and Jock are now working overtime to ensure that the entire station is safe for passengers. Requesting anonymity, a senior official revealed the dogs were working 12-hour shifts everyday.
And this for a pittance of Rs 4,365. “That is the salary that the dogs receive. It is not enough to buy meat, eggs and milk for them. They need to be worked less and paid more,” he said.
Vulnerable stations
“We need at least 12 sniffer dogs for the Ahmedabad station. But we have to make do with just two dogs. If something happens to them, we do not know what we will do. It is just not possible for one dog to check such a huge station,” the official said, adding, “Meanwhile, this leaves Sabarmati and Maninagar stations vulnerable. With the city growing in all directions, more and more passengers are using these two stations to commute. We need dogs for these stations, too.”
RPF Divisional Security Commissioner (Ahmedabad) Sumiti Shandlya accepted there is a shortage of sniffer dogs. “We have received permission to get 10 more canines. We will have to issue tenders and get the puppies. Then, it will take us at least a year and a half to train the pups and bring them into the field,” he said.
The authorities plan to hire dogs from a private security firm to secure the station in the meantime. “We have sent a proposal to the higher authorities and expect an approval soon. Following this, we will issue a tender for the process,” Shandlya added. The official said, “The process is so time-consuming that we are not likely to get any dogs this year.”
Plans on paper
The railways spend the most on security and safety of passengers. After the blasts in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the authorities drew up an integrated security plan three years ago. These included parcel scanners, sniffer dogs and CCTV cameras at every nook and cranny of the railway station so that it could be monitored from anywhere, including headquarters in Mumbai and Delhi. The plan was that every move made inside the station would be monitored by CCTVs. Lack of funds means these ideas remain only on paper.
A peek inside the CCTV control room reveals that the cameras already installed provide blurry images which make it impossible to identify faces or detect if any parcel has been left behind. Metal detectors were to be upgraded to the standard of explosive detectors. ‘’The hand-held and metal detectors cannot detect an explosive like RDX,” said an official. The most vulnerable spot is the parcel office. ‘’In the eventuality of explosive-laden parcels there is no contingency plan. There is no checking and scanning of parcels,” the official added.
Shandlya said, “Shortage of funds mean that work on integrated plan for Ahmedabad will be delayed by a year. If the western region receives funds next year, security work will be initiated in Ahmedabad, Surat, Godhra and Ujjain.”
