The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : A sigh of relief at South Station

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Monday, Jul 28, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

A sigh of relief at South Station

K.S. Sudhi

KOCHI: The city heaved a collective sigh of relief as clocks in the city ticked 7. 01 p.m. on Sunday at the South Railway Station.

The scenes that unfolded at the portico of the Ernakulam South Railway Station hours before the threatened ‘deadline’ reflected the city life. The fear. On the faces of the policemen, passengers, telephone booth operators, headload workers…Though everyone tried to dismiss it with a joke , the fear was palpable.

Large number of policemen, including the senior officers who were busy giving instructions over walkie-talkies and bomb squads installing their equipment, besieged the South Railway station hours before the deadline.

At times, policemen were looking at their wristwatches. Just to find out whether it is 7 p.m.

As the huge round wall clock at the entrance of the station reached 7 p.m., a heavy silence engulfed the area. Minutes passed in that all encompassing silence. Nothing happened. And the passengers and the policemen heaved a sigh of relief.

In its run up to the unusual deadline, the police left no stones unturned.

Every passenger was frisked and baggage checked. Even the pickle bottles and ornament boxes were opened and chargers of mobile phones that the passengers carried inside their bags were repeatedly checked. Those who carried umbrellas to fight the evening showers were asked to open it.

The police had swung into action at least 2 hours ahead of the ‘deadline’. At around 6. 45 p.m., the bomb squad installed a Door Frame Metal Detector and routed all those who wanted to enter the platform through it. The entry was restricted to the railway station as the Railway authorities stopped issuing platform tickets at 6.10 p.m.

The Railways closed its parcel booking office and all the parcels that reached the station were repeatedly checked by the bomb squad before ending the day’s business. Similar scenes were repeated at the Cloak room too. The Railway Protection Force and the local police together combed the station repeatedly in the evening. The waiting halls, foot over bridges and the strategic installations of the Railways were sieved.

The CCTV and the public announcement system at the station repeatedly cautioned the passengers not to touch unclaimed baggage.

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