The Golden Rock Railway Workshop here has bagged the Green Shield Award instituted by the Southern Railway headquarters for the second consecutive year for its environmental protection measures.
The Green Shield Award was introduced in 2008-09 for the five railway workshops falling within the Southern Railway jurisdiction with the Golden Rock Railway Workshop chosen among other workshops for the award last year.
The other railway workshops in Southern Railway limits are the Carriage Works, Perambur in Chennai; Loco Works, Perambur; Engineering Workshop at Arakkonam and Signal and Telecommunication Workshop at Podhanur near Coimbatore.
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A top level team from the Southern Railway headquarters comprising Chief Workshop Engineer, Chief Electrical System Engineer and Chief Signal Engineer visited all the five workshops to inspect the environment protection & management and pollution control measures.
The team inspected the Golden Rock Workshop in February to check different parameters including general cleanliness and upkeep of the workshop; measures taken to reduce emissions and for controlling air pollution; steps taken to conserve water; disposal of waste and its segregation; working of the effluent treatment plants; measures taken to increase the green cover besides rain water harvesting facility.
A power point presentation was made to the high-level railway team on the steps taken to protect environment within the sprawling workshop, and energy conservation measures, workshop authorities here told ‘The Hindu’.
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The over 80-year-old workshop, in addition to carrying out periodic overhaul of diesel and steam engines, has been manufacturing wagons, and exporting diesel locomotives after carrying out necessary modifications. There are a total number of 34 shops inside the 200-acre workshop.
The workshop has four effluent treatment plants, and a sewage treatment plant, say officials adding that six rain water harvesting structures had been created inside the organisation. Over 1,500 saplings were planted this year to enhance the green cover. Ambient air quality was being monitored at specified location once in two months as per the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board norms and all the values were within the limits, say officials.
Officials said the Golden Rock Workshop was chosen for the award by the Southern Railway headquarters and a communication in this regard was sent recently. The award was presented to the workshop at a function held at Chennai on Tuesday.