Railway officials and conservancy staff involved in cleaning the entrance of the Egmore railway station as part of Swachhta He Seva campaign.

| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Railway stations in the city wore a cleaner look on Thursday as Southern Railway intensified the cleanliness drive through the Swachhata Hi Seva mission.The Swachhata Hi Seva, initiated as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, has become an annual cleanliness programme of Southern Railway. A senior official of the Chennai division said the annual cleanliness drive this year was carried out in two phases for more than a month from August 1 to September 16, during which the conservancy workers of the Railways were involved in taking up cleaning operations in 160 railway stations located in the division.The commuters wanted the railway officials to carry out the cleanliness drive every month, especially on the tracks. Southern Railway has lined up several other conservancy initiatives, including planting of tree saplings, health camps for cleanliness workers and railway staff, awareness campaigns in railway colonies and mass cleaning at Central and Egmore railway stations this year.The railway official said that cleaning drives were held in railway stations including Dr. MGR Chennai Central, Egmore, Velachery, Tambaram, Mambalam, Avadi and Tiruvallur. The 45-day Swachhata Hi Seva campaign culminated on Gandhi Jayanti Day with a grand function held at the Central station on Thursday where senior railway officials, including P. Mahesh, Additional General Manager of Southern Railway, and Chennai Divisional Railway Manager Shailendra Singh, participated.The railway official said during the 45-day cleanliness campaign, more than 450 tonnes of garbage was removed and 750 kg of plastic and recyclable waste collected from the railway stations and offices. S. Rajeshkumar, a commuter from Taramani complained that the ground floor of the station was filled with bird droppings and animal droppings, causing a nauseating atmosphere. A similar situation prevails in Velachery railway station also, he said. Published - October 03, 2025 06:14 am IST