Rawalpindi:
A dangerous infestation of poisonous snakes has been informed on platform No. 6 within the railway patio of the Rawalpindi train station, leaving deeply alarmed rail workers. Five poisonous snakes have already been killed in the area only last week.
Platform 6 serves as a vital operating center, which functions as the primary loading and download point for Karachi, Lahore and Quetta freight to arrive. It is also where trains experience routine inspections, physical conditioning evaluations and minor repairs. Personnel of six different railway departments are parked in this place.
The surface of the platform remains completely unpaved. As a result of the monsoon season, wild grass, dense weeds and cannabis have become without control, reaching heights of up to three feet, thus creating ideal conditions for snakes to hide and reproduce.
The area is frequented daily by car staff and car and car departments, traffic, mechanical, execution of crazy, signal and goods. These teams are responsible for tasks, including the deep cleaning of coaches, seat washing, technical inspections and motive repair, bogies, lighting systems and goods compartments.
However, due to thick vegetation, workers are forced to carry out their duties while they sit in the middle of grass and high bushes, with snakes that appear frequently without prior notice.
The union representatives of the Railway Workers Union and the Mazdoor Ittehad railroad report that the risk has become so pronounced that, during operations, two workers are now published only to monitor the activity of the snake while others continue their duties. Repeated appeals have been made to the railroads of the Divisional Superintendent (DS) to eliminate vegetation, but so far, significant measures have not been taken.
The additional problem of the problem is the fact that the rail hospital lacks anti-veneno, injections or vaccines necessary in case of a snake bite. Union leaders have warned that if any worker is fatally damaged or bitten, all affiliated rail unions will present a case of murder against the relevant authorities.
They emphasized that the monsoon period marks the maximum reproduction season for poisonous snakes, significantly raising the risk for employees.
The Railway Workers Union, the Crazy Civil Copper Union and the Mazdoor Ittehad railroad have jointly demanded that the DS and the general manager of the railroads make an urgent visit to platform 6 and immediately order the authorization of the covered vegetation. Not this, they have threatened to organize a protest in front of the division office.
In response, a DS office spokesman confirmed that the division superintendent has taken note of the situation and that grass cutting operations will begin shortly.
