Patna, Jan. 21: Passengers at Patna Junction tread carefully on the platforms. The stink from the unclean railway tracks is making life difficult for them.

The authorities at the station, however, claim the passengers are to be blamed for the mess. The large number of trains that arrive and depart everyday and the heavy load of passengers makes it difficult to keep the station premises clean. To add to it, most passengers ignore all rules of hygiene.

Abhinav Kumar, a passenger waiting for Rajdhani Express on platform number 1, said: “The tracks are so dirty that we cannot stand on the platform. The stink is unbearable.”

Most passengers wait on the over-bridge instead of the platforms.

“I do not understand why the tracks are not clean. The rail authorities are not doing their duty,” said Surbhi Singh, another passenger.

Her fellow passenger Mahesh Sinha said the filth not only spoilt his appetite but also made him feel sick.

“I wanted to have lunch as my train was late. But now I am feeling sick,” Sinha said.

Sinha also said that the apathetic attitude of the authorities was responsible for the problem.

Patna Junction health inspector Mahesh Prasad, however, has something different to say.

“You cannot blame us if the station premises are not clean. There are around 70 employees working round-the-clock, in two shifts, to keep the place clean. But the passengers just do not co-operate,” said Prasad.

There are around 230 trains that operate from the station everyday and around 1 lakh people come and go. The only way the station can be kept clean is with the help of the passengers, said the official. “We have kept dustbins at proper places but passengers just litter the tracks and the platforms,” the official added.

But passengers feel the station authorities are not doing enough. “The authorities are not deploying enough people to keep the station clean,” said Mayur Kumar, a passenger.

Kumar added that contractor often take up the job believing it is a lucrative business proposal. But when they are confronted with the challenge, they fail to do the needful.

In response, the officials claim they do not have enough time to clean the tracks

Ranjit Kumar Singh, the public relations officer of Danapur division, said: “The time between the departure of one train and the departure of the next is very little. Moreover, the passengers refuse to co-operate and litter the place. The railways have cleanliness as a top priority. But the travellers must also use their civic sense.”

Dilip Kumar, chief public relations officer of East Central Railway, said: “Passengers often have to wait for seven or eight hours on the platform. If they do not co-operate, how can we keep the station clean?”

Thus the buck keeps travelling more regularly than the scheduled trains.