Entry of newly recruited constables and transfer of personnel from the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has substantially reduced manpower shortage in RPF Tiruchi Division.
Vacancies that existed at the level of constables have been completely filled with the induction of newly recruited constables and those transferred from the RPSF. Having completed indoor and outdoor training at different centres followed by a 45-day practical training, the new constables have been posted to six divisions in the Southern Railway zone.
Accordingly, the RPF of Tiruchi Railway Division has been allotted 48 newly recruited constables who passed out from the RPF Zonal Training Centre in Tiruchi in June.
In addition, a group of 110 constables who were serving in the RPSF V Battalion in Tiruchi have been transferred to the RPF and posted in Tiruchi Railway Division.
RPF sources told The Hindu that the induction of new constables and those transferred from the RPSF has filled up the vacancies that existed at the level of constables. The RPF of Tiruchi Division has a vast territorial jurisdiction to cover over 10 revenue districts falling in the central region and a portion in the northern region of the State. Of the total 665 sanctioned strength of the RPF in Tiruchi Division including officers, the actual strength post induction of new constables and those transferred from the RPSF was a little over 620 now.
With manpower strength at the constable level having been addressed, vacancies exist at the level of Head Constable, Assistant Sub Inspector and Sub Inspector, sources said.
The newly inducted constables have been posted to various RPF outposts across the division including Tiruchi, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam and Nagapattinam besides in train escort team.
In all, 722 newly recruited constables had been allotted to the Southern Railway zone comprising of Chennai, Tiruchi, Madurai, Salem, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram railway divisions. These constables have been deployed in all the divisions including Tiruchi. Realising the huge vacancies especially at the lower level in the force, the railway administration went on a mass drive across the country to recruit around 16,000 constables for the RPF and RPSF. The newly inducted constables have been trained in a slew of aspects including handling of different types of weapons, rules of the force and the functioning of the railway system. The RPF is entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding railway property, passenger areas and providing security on platforms and circulating areas besides escorting trains.
