Vendors lend a hand to keep Kota station clean

The paper cups, plates and napkins used in the Kota railway station in Rajasthan are stamped by each of the 149 vendors who use them in their stalls.

This is to ensure that apart from passengers, vendors are also made responsible for keeping the area near their stalls or shops clean.

So, apart from placing a dustbin near their stalls, vendors are also responsible for keeping the 10-metre radius around it litter-free.

There are 47 stalls or mobile vans spread across four platforms in the station, with a total of 149 vendors.

While there is a penalty of up to ₹1,000 for littering the station, the railway division says it tries to avoid penalising vendors and focuses more on creating awareness.

The move has worked well as tourists from across the world appreciate the initiative, said Railway officials.

“This has also helped take the load off the mechanised cleaning vendor who can now focus on areas that are out of bounds of the food and beverage vendors. There has been a marked improvement in cleanliness of the tracks as well,” Ram Niwas Meena, Divisional Commercial Manager, told BusinessLine .

Kota station receives about 40,000 passengers a day on an average.

“We are trying to get all stations under the Kota division to adopt the initiative,” said Meena.

Last year, the project bagged the Railway Ministry’s award for best innovation.

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