A senior railway official decided to conduct a surprise inspection of a railway station by cycling for 140 km to reach the spot.
Railway officials at Laxmibai Nagar station near Indore were in for the shock when R K Gupta, the additional divisional railway manager, entered the station on a bicycle for a surprise inspection.
After being prompted to go for an inspection when he heard about an incident involving roll back of coaches near Indore station, Gupta decided to cycle for 140 km and reach the spot. Speaking to the Hindustan Times he said, “There was an incident involving roll back of coaches at Laxmibai Nagar station on Friday evening. Although it was a minor incident, we take such incidents seriously as there is a potential for major mishap. So, I decided to inspect the station.”
He finished the journey in 10 hours during which he took six breaks and made sure he was hydrated. Generally, when senior officials go for inspection, it is expected that they come in cars with air conditioning; they don’t have to deal with flat tyres the way Gupta did.
Image for representation. Photo source: Wikimedia
He said that he has found a way to combine his duties and his passion for fitness. He took up cycling only nine months ago but has since then realised that he can be fit on the job. In fact, this isn’t the first time he has hit the road with his bike for surprise inspections. He went from Ratlam to Ujjain in 2016 (a six hour bike ride) for the same reason.
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As far as the inspection is concerned, it was successful according to Gupta. He advised the personnel of Laxmibai Nagar station to not make such a mistake ever again.
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