Checking terminal safety

Additional 90 men are pressed into service if the security is beefed up but only 10 per cent of these 172 men are armed.

The station has six entry and exit points 8212; three each on Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate sides 8212; and the authorities have closed two entry points over the past year. Among those shut down is the one near the second class booking counter on Paharganj side, and another leading to platform number 1 from the state entry road.

8220;The state entry road is a VIP gate, so closed it. Now it is used when only officials or people from the ministry visit the station,8221; Geetanjali Kame, PRO, New Delhi Railway Station, said.

Undergoing major renovation to deck up in time for 2010 Commonwealth games, the station currently has only seven door frame metal detectors DFMD, placed at major entry points. These detectors are manned and monitored on days bandobast is raised in the Capital, but the situation is a free-for-all on any 8216;normal8217; day. The RPF personnel at the entry and exit points are provided hand-held metal detectors, though there are just eight of them for the entire station.

8220;Currently we do not have any baggage scanner at the station but a proposal is pending. We will soon have them,8221; Kame said. There are 35 CCTVs, and 8220;we have sent a request for 23 more,8221; Kame said.

Besides the 172 RPF officials manning the station premises every day, 8220;we have also recently added two dog squads for everyday monitoring.8221;

The station also has introduced a new batch to help security personnel following Saturday8217;s blasts: safai karamcharis. 8220;Each safai karamchari has been advised to check every dustbin on each platform every 20 minutes,8221; Kame said.

8220;We cannot possibly get rid of dustbins altogether.8221;