Be prepared for baggage and security checks at Monorail

Though there are CCTV cameras at every station as well as inside the trains and armed guards near the entry and exit points to the stations, the lack of a proper Baggage Inspection System or Hand Held Explosive Detectors (HHED) has raised security concer

Baggage checks, X-ray machine, hand-held devices checking every individual for possible hidden weapons - entering a monorail station could soon mean all this and more. To make the country's first monorail more secure, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA has invited tenders for electronic X-ray Baggage Inspection Systems BIS as well as Hand Held Explosive Detectors HHED.

Though there are CCTV cameras at every station as well as inside the trains and armed guards near the entry and exit points to the stations, the lack of a proper Baggage Inspection System or Hand Held Explosive Detectors HHED has raised security concerns. Pic/ Bipin Kokate

Confirming the same to SUNDAY MiD DAY, MMRDA's chief of Transport and Communication Division, PRK Murthy said, "We have floated the tenders in the last week of January and the last date for submitting the bids is Friday. Five reputed companies have come forward and placed their bids to supply the equipment."

The first phase of the monorail service was inaugurated by the state's chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, last Saturday. It was thrown open to the public from the following day. Since its inauguration the Wadala-Chembur phase-1 stretch has
attracted a full house through the day including several tourists eager to try out what is only the second- ever monorail service of its kind in the world.

Currently, monorail services are operational between 7 am and 3pm. Depending on public response the authorities may increase the duration of the service and operate the trains in two shifts after a month.

Security issues
At present, there are CCTV cameras at every station and inside the trains. Armed guards are also present near the entry and exit points to the stations. However, the lack a proper Baggage Inspection System or Hand Held Explosive Detectors HHED has raised security concerns. MMRDA officials are hopeful that once a deal is inked and the machinery delivered, passengers should not have any more security concerns.

‘They know how to handle the machines'
When asked if any agency had been identified to provide the required training to the MSSC guards to operate such fancy equipment, Murthy said, "They already know how to operate the equipment and such security devices."