Union Minister of State for Railways Ram Naik inspected a guard of honour of the 75 constables at a function at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus this afternoon. Naik later spoke at length on the importance of women constabulary in the maintenance of law and order on trains.

As crowds watched curiously, Haumsa Gupta, from Uttar Pradesh, who has come to Mumbai for the first time, wondered why ``... people are so interested in us joining the force. Are we so special?'' Fresh out of school, Haumsa had taken the Railway Board examination for female constables last April. On being selected, she was sent to Tiruchirapalli for training in May and then posted at one of the most difficult places in the country, and with little knowledge of the city.

``I have receivedtraining to defend commuters from harm, but the trains look crowded here,'' observed Anita Domal, who hails from Nashik. She was confident, though, that the women would manage to cope up with the pressures soon enough.

``We are being put up at Mulund. Which side will the platform come on?'' asked an anxious Jhuma Das, who entered into the ladies compartment of a Thane slow local. On being warned that by the time Dadar arrived, the whole compartment would be packed beyond capacity, Das and her friends immediately removed their badges and put them into their pockets.

But for Mumbai, where two women, Jaybala Ashar and Archana Samudre, were thrown out of running locals in the last 10 months and the ladies compartments being targetted by stone-throwers, these constables are an absolute necessity.