Ranchi Railway Station has become one of the preferred destinations for youngsters and leisure buffs now days for downloading games, movies and other entertainment stuffs for free of cost at an amazing speed. The free internet service at Ranchi Railway Station which kicked off few months back for the convenience of railway passengers, though has benefited the targeted group but on contrary is also creating ruckus for the railway officials in managing crowd at station.
Railway officials are worried as several people especially youngsters buy platform tickets to get an access inside the station in order to enjoy free high speed Wi-Fi internet service gathers on regular basis and also during busiest hours which further creates chaos at station.
“We almost everyday find group of youths here at station with smart phones and laptops. Most of them buy platform ticket to enjoy the uninterrupted internet services. However, in the past few days we have also nabbed few college students without platform tickets but we released them after warning. Strict vigilance is required to check such nuisance at the railway station,” said, a RPF staff, requesting for anonymity.
Platforms from one to five are covered under the Wi-Fi zone and the service is likely to be expanded to other platforms too in the coming days. This is for the first time when such facility is available for the denizens at any public place in the state capital. After initiating one of the most awaited services of Wi-Fi facility with the assistance of Google and RailTel (Railway Telecom service), the commuters at Ranchi Railway station are availing the designated internet service without any interruptions.
“This is one genuine problem and will be addressed soon. As the accessibility is easy, most of them assemble at the station to enjoy the benefit of free internet service. We have also asked the Station Masters and RPF staffs to keep strict vigil at the station. The frequency of patrolling too has been increased at the station. Those caught without platform tickets will be penalised and have to pay Rs 260. Platform tickets are valid for two hours only,” informed, Senior DCM, Neeraj Kumar.
“Since the service has just been initiated, we are exploring on different facets to stop such mishaps making the entire system more comprehensive and secure. Presently, we are not taking any technical assistance to tackle this problem,” added Kumar.