It has been nearly a year since the advanced Under Vehicle Scanners (UVS) were installed at the two entrances of the Tiruchi railway junction.
Nevertheless, the hi-value gadgets have been gathering dust without being commissioned since its installation.
The scanners have remained idle and were yet to be handed over to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel who are entrusted with the task of maintaining security and surveillance at the railway station.
The sophisticated scanners were procured under the technology-oriented Integrated Security Scheme (ISS) to fortify security and surveillance at Tiruchi Junction, a major station in the Southern Railway zone.
The UVS were among the slew of security gadgets procured under the ISS that was conceived and implemented by the railway administration in select railway stations in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.
Tiruchi was one among the railway stations in the country chosen for implementation of the ISS with funds provided by the Ministry of Railways.
A string of surveillance cameras, UVS, baggage and parcel scanners besides hand held metal detectors among others were sanctioned for Tiruchi Junction under the ISS.
One of the UVS was installed near the main entrance, while the other at the second entry in the Kallukuzhi side to scan the undercarriage of vehicles entering the station in order to detect foreign or hazardous objects placed underneath.
A couple of prefabricated cabins were installed equipped with monitors and connected to the scanners to examine the underneath of vehicles entering the station. Although the scanners were installed, it took some time to provide power supply.
Railway sources said there were some technical issues with respect to the gadgets which could only scan the underneath of vehicles passing at a certain speed. The gadgets could not clearly scan the images if the vehicles passed by below that speed, the sources added.
Acknowledging that the scanners were yet to be commissioned, the sources said the vendor of the gadgets had been kept informed of the technical issues through written correspondence. The gadgets were tested by the vendors.
The gadgets were yet to be handed over to the RPF personnel entrusted with the task of implementing the ISS at Tiruchi Junction, the sources said.
