All of us, at one point or the other, have complained about the poor maintenance of railway stations in India. But how many of us actually bother to help by doing our bit? Well, according to a report in The Hindu, for this Tamil Nadu resident, service before self is not just a saying, it seems to be a way of life.
Urapakkam’s Rajesh Kannan Yadav is a stellar example of a conscious citizen, as he has gone out of his way, to take care of a public place—for no personal gain whatsoever.
Indiscriminate urinating, amongst other things, is quite an issue, in and around stations. Sometimes, bathrooms may not be within reach, and at other times, people have no qualms about relieving themselves wherever they want.
Like most railway stations around the country, the Urapakkam railway station, in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu also has its fair share of offenders who use the passageway between Platforms 1 and 2, to relieve themselves.
Having observed this on several occasions, Rajesh decided that something needed to be done and decided to fence the open passageway, and install 5 LED lights there. The article in the publication goes on to state that he also got the walls painted by professional artists, with messages in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English, requesting people not to urinate.
His work isn’t just limited to the passageway, though. Speaking to The Hindu, Rajesh said, “Since 2016, I have been going around the Urapakkam railway station every morning, to remove the trash strewn around and throw it in dustbins.”
He has beautified the station bit by bit, scrapped posters and whitewashed the walls of the ticket counter booths. He even arranged for potted plants, painted the benches, and got lights installed outside the ticket counter, and below the foot-over-bridge.
His work at the Urapakkam Railway Station came to the attention of higher officials of the Southern Railway, and they requested Rajesh to implement his ideas at the Chennai Park railway station as well.
Rajesh continues to put the Railways on priority, and told The Hindu, that R Jeba Armstrong, Senior Section Engineer, and K Venkateswara Rao, Senior Section Engineer, Chennai Park railway station, helped him a lot in his endeavours.
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We hope Rajesh continues his good work and inspires people along the way, in Tamil Nadu, and elsewhere. If you wish to get in touch with him, you can contact him at 9840283359.
Featured image credit: Rajesh Kannan Yadav.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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