Jailed for spitting

The central railway sends 150 offenders to jail over two days in a radical clean-up drive

Jailed for spitting

The central railway sends 150 offenders to jail over two daysu00a0in a radical clean-up drive

Think twice before you spit on a railway station or on the railway premises.

The Central Railway (CR) has launched a revolutionary clean-up drive that allows the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to collar people who spit on railway premises and throw them in jail after penalising them for Rs 200.
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If the person can't pay the fine, he spends four days in jail.

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The drive follows the railways SMS feedback campaign, which invited people to text their grievances. Dirty trains, railway stations, tracks topped the list of commuters' complaints.

The drive launched on Sunday has had 150 miscreants in jail.

Spitting, a habit

Assistant manager Ananth More (35) spent Monday in jail for spitting at CST. A resident of Dombivli, he said, "I don't think before I spit.
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I was getting a cough and I had to spit, so I spat on the railway tracks and on the platform. Besides, everybody spits."

Another commuter Guddu Sharma (23), added, "I had eaten gutka and had to spit it out. So, I spat on the railway station.

I did not know that they would penalise me and then put me behind bars." Sharma works as a peon with a bank at CST.
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Young offenders

Said A K Pandey, Sub-Inspector RPF, CST, "Most of the men we caught are in the age group 25 to 40 and they all told us they were not aware of the rules.

Some even said they have been spitting for ever and never seriously thought about its harmful effects on others or that they were dirtying the platforms."
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Incidentally, 'the spit and go to jail rule' is not a new one. It has existed for years under section 145 (B) of the RPF Act.

SMS Feedback Campaign

Central Railway started an SMS feedback campaign on April 16, which is ongoing. Local train commuters can SMS their suggestions, complaints and feedback to 900441111.

CR general manager B B Modgil, who initiated the campaign, personally monitors the feedback and complaints.
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The suggestions are then sent to the heads of concerned departments, who take the necessary steps to improve commuters' experience.