The Government Railway Police (GRP) has prepared a wish list to procure equipment, increase manpower and simultaneously highlighting loopholes.

“The equipment we have is not enough. Also, we have only 10 sniffer dogs. We are preparing proposals for buying modern equipment and a hundred per cent increase in the number of sniffer dogs. In a day or two the proposal will be sent to the government,” said Dilip Mitra, Additional Director General of GRP.

The proposal also seeks installation of more baggage scanners at important stations. “We have installed one at Howrah station. We want one each at Siliguri, Asansol and Kharagpur,” Mitra said. The price of the gadget, however, can restrict the demand for large-scale installation.

“The equipment is very costly. We have to go slow in installing them at more stations,” he said.

The squad has just 10 such sniffer dogs stationed in five districts — two in North Bengal and three in South Bengal.

It is also plagued by a severe shortage of manpower. The most affected area is North Bengal. “We are trying to solve the problem and have approached the state government,” Mitra said.

A senior officer of GRP said with the Gorkhaland issue gaining importance once again, several other groups like the Kamtapuris and Rajbongshis have also raised demands for separate statehood. “Earlier experience has shown that these groups have often targeted railway stations and tracks in North Bengal. Several cases of subversive activities in Siliguri and Jalpaiguri have highlighted the need for tight security measures in the stations of North Bengal,” he said.

Sources in the GRP said there are just 231 personnel for the seven districts of North Bengal and they had sent several pleas to the state government to increase strength.