NEW DELHI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- India railways said it has extended the use of CCTV cameras for monitoring cleanliness activities at major railway stations.
The information was given by India's Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain in a written reply in the parliament.
"Regular intensive cleanliness drives are undertaken at various railway stations by Zonal Railways. Use of CCTVs has been extended for monitoring of cleanliness activities at major stations," the minister said.
The minister said currently over 340 major railway stations have been provided with CCTV cameras for round-the-clock surveillance for the security of passengers.
This year India's official auditing agency - Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said food served by Indian railways in its trains and stations was unhygienic and unfit for human consumption.
Indian sprawling railways is the world's third largest network, ferrying around 23 million people each day.
Considered to be the backbone of public transport in India, the railway network was built mostly under British colonial rule.
It is often being criticized for lack of cleanliness an providing unhygienic food to the passengers.
Indian government in 2015 announced an investment of over 137 billion U.S. dollars over a period of next five years to boost railways and modernise it on new lines.
