Railway stations could have designated selfie points soon
What's the story
Railway stations in India might soon have designated selfie points as the Indian Railways has invited proposals to improve facilities at 70 stations across the country by December 2018.
Some other facilities which have been planned include better lighting, provision of lifts and escalators, and improvement of circulating areas outside railway stations.
Meanwhile, the Indian Railway Station Development Corporation is also redeveloping 600 stations.
Quote
What the Railway Board chairman had to say
"About 600 stations have been identified for this purpose across Indian Railways, which will be assigned to IRSDC shortly. However, as a parallel measure, it has been decided to develop about 70 stations through zonal railways separately," said Railway Board chairman Ashwin Lohani.
Details
Divisional railway managers have already been asked to appoint consultants
In the 2018-19 budget, provision of passenger amenities has already been proposed.
Apart from the IRSDC's work, some stations which have been selected by the Indian Railways for improvement include Lonavala, Mumbai, Nagpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Delhi and Mysore among others.
Divisional railway managers have been asked to appoint architectural consultants to prepare plans for developing these selected 70 stations.
IRSDC's plans
Private parties can construct residential/commercial structures on railway land
As far as the IRSDC's station development plan goes, among other facilities, it has been decided that private parties will be allowed to construct residential complexes and/or commercial structures like hotels and hospitals near railway stations on land owned by the Indian Railways.
Land will be leased to private parties for 99 years, and this will be done at 600 stations.