Mangaluru railway stations get PCB certification

MANGALORE : As many as 15 railway stations, including Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction, in Palakkad division of Southern Railway have obtained ‘consent to operate’ (CTO) certification from the state pollution control boards.

Apart from Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction in Karnataka, other stations in the Palakkad division include Palakkad Junction, Ottapalam, Shoranur, Kuttippuram, Tirur, Kozhikode, Quilandi, Vadakra, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyanur, Kanhangad and Kasragod in Kerala.

A statement said that all the stations were inspected by the officials of the pollution control boards for compliance of environmental norms. It said Palakkad is the first division in Southern Railway to complete the certification process of all the nominated stations in the division.

Palakkad Division obtained the Certification for Environment Management System (ISO 14001) for the 15 stations in 2019 and completed energy audits in all these stations. Apart from this, water audit has been completed in six stations. It said that Railway also has plans to implement a sewerage treatment plant, material recovery facility, composting bin for bio- degradable waste, water recycling plant, etc.

Based on these initiatives on the environmental front, state pollution control boards issued CTOs to the railway stations. It said that 13 railway stations of Kerala received certification from the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, while Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction got the certification from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.

Palakkad division has also completed projects for rainwater harvesting and solar power generation, it added.

Source : The Hindu Business Line