According to a passenger survey conducted by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Mettupalayam was ranked the 18th cleanest station among 332 'A' category stations across the country. 'A' category stations are those with a revenue between 6 and 60crore.
IRCTC recently released the preliminary report of an assessment of cleanliness standards done in major railway stations across the country. The survey done as part of achieving "Swachh Rail" with passengers feedback saw Mettupalayam rated among the 20 cleanest stations, in A category, in the country. Passengers have given Mettupalayam a score of anywhere between 600 and 749 making it fall under level 2 in the ranking among the top 20. This is the first time such a cleanliness survey has been conducted.
Mettupalayam has developed into a tourism destination over the years. Passengers board the NMR at this station. "Since this station is popularly used by tourists, it's critical that the junction is clean and hygienic," said the Salem division spokesperson. Officials attribute the improvement in cleanliness of the station to increase in public participation. "We get the public, school students and NGOs from the municipality to participate in cleanliness drives," said divisional railway manager, Salem, Shubhranshu. "They also counsel passengers against littering the station," he added.
"We have also increased the number of garbage bins and have placed them at more noticeable spots," Shubhranshu further said.
Regular commuters say that there has been a marked difference in the station's cleanliness compared to five years ago. While Coimbatore was rated the 13th cleanest station in the A1 category -- stations that earn a revenue of more than 60 crore -- two other stations from the Western region, Salem and Erode -- also made it to the top 20 cleanest stations in the A category. Overall, six stations in TN featured in the top 20 list of A category stations.
IRCTC recently released the preliminary report of an assessment of cleanliness standards done in major railway stations across the country. The survey done as part of achieving "Swachh Rail" with passengers feedback saw Mettupalayam rated among the 20 cleanest stations, in A category, in the country. Passengers have given Mettupalayam a score of anywhere between 600 and 749 making it fall under level 2 in the ranking among the top 20. This is the first time such a cleanliness survey has been conducted.
Mettupalayam has developed into a tourism destination over the years. Passengers board the NMR at this station. "Since this station is popularly used by tourists, it's critical that the junction is clean and hygienic," said the Salem division spokesperson. Officials attribute the improvement in cleanliness of the station to increase in public participation. "We get the public, school students and NGOs from the municipality to participate in cleanliness drives," said divisional railway manager, Salem, Shubhranshu. "They also counsel passengers against littering the station," he added.
"We have also increased the number of garbage bins and have placed them at more noticeable spots," Shubhranshu further said.
Regular commuters say that there has been a marked difference in the station's cleanliness compared to five years ago. While Coimbatore was rated the 13th cleanest station in the A1 category -- stations that earn a revenue of more than 60 crore -- two other stations from the Western region, Salem and Erode -- also made it to the top 20 cleanest stations in the A category. Overall, six stations in TN featured in the top 20 list of A category stations.