Women staff are stuck overnight at this station

Earlier this month, the railway station at Banaswadi became the first in South Western Railways to be run entirely by women.

The staff are still trying to understand the challenges. One overriding concern is security.

V Uma Maheshwari, commercial clerk, smiles confidently as she hands out platform tickets.

She used to work in Mandya and had to travel up and down from Bengaluru, and is happy with her new posting in her home town.

Her only worry is the daily commute home. "Those of us who work on the 2 to 10 pm shift stay back till 6 am because bus connectivity to the rest of the city isn't so great at that hour," she says.

Commercial clerks work from 6 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 10 pm. Women on the second shift stay back at the station, fearing the late-hour commute home.

Betty Aju, one of the three women station masters at the station, was earlier working at the Cantonment station. She was posted to Banaswadi on March 8, Women's Day.

The station's security is manned by the Railways Protection Force and the Government Railway Police.

"Since our staff comprises women, the more the security personnel the better," she says.

Muniyamma, a pointswoman who joined duty recently, doesn't feel insecure. She works on two shifts: 7 am to 7 pm and 7 pm to 7 am. "My family considers working at a women-only station a blessing," she says.

A woman RPF constable was warned about unruly men when she was posted at the station.

"The area is known for hooligans and drunks roaming about freely. The station has two women constables from the RPF, three women Home Guards and a Government Railway Police woman constable on duty," she says. She recommends more CCTV cameras for additional safety. "And we also need a changing room," she adds.

Fear factor

A constable from the Byappanahalli railway police station, posted at Banaswadi for additional security, says the area is infamous for mugging incidents.

"Chain-snatching and robbery are rampant here. No compound wall separates the station from the slum beyond," he says. Crimes take place as the trains curve into the station, he told Metrolife.