The drive, dubbed `Fortress Check' was launched on July 10, with the express purpose of pinning down ticketless travellers whose numbers have increased in the recent past. Two dog sqauds of two canines each will man possible escape routes on platforms while ticket-checkers peel their eyes for shifty-eyed commuters. ``Run at your own risk,'' warns Vinod Kumar Asthana, the railway's chief spokesperson.

The dog squads, which are the latest addition to the intensified ticket checking, belong to the Railway Protection Force. With bomb threats few and far between, it was decided that the mutts should lend a paw.

Railway officials say the dogs have beentrained to bark at potential `adversaries', not bite them. ``They will run you down but will not cause harm,'' a railway official told Express Newsline. Moreover, they will be accompanied by their trainers, he says. But what if they do? The railway has no answer. ``We just hope things will not come to such a pass,'' the official says.

The 120 ticket-checkers, who resume normal duties when raids are not scheduled, have been drawn from the pool of 400 that the railway employs. Besides these, there will also be an `all ladies' squad of 20 checkers joining the raids.

Two raids have been conducted thus far, on July 10 at Mumbai Central, Charni Road, Lower Parel and Churchgate and at Marine Lines on July 20. About 1,000 ticketless-travellers were nabbed and Rs 80,000 was collected by way of fines.

Concerned over the drop in ticket-sales -- while 7.8 crore commuters travelled by the railway in April 1998, sales declined by 13 lakh during the corresponding period this year -- the authorities decided thatdesperate measures were in order. What's more, they seem to have paid off.

Oddly, ticket-checkers tell a different story. They say collection in fines has reduced drastically since the drive began. ``Previously we used to collect about Rs 450 per day, but following the drive, the figure has come down to around Rs 367,'' says a member of the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti, a railway employees' union. He says the samiti has already written to the administration protesting against the drive. With 120 checkers concentrated on one station for day, ticketless-travellers have a field day at other stations, he explains.

The union is also opposed to the targets fixed for checkers: At present, each ticket-checker has to collect fines amounting to Rs 500 per day while the target for mobile staff is pegged at Rs 750.

Moreover, they claim to have the law on their side. Nine years ago, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Guwahati Bench, had declared the fixing of targets illegal. If the raids do indeed serve as adeterrent, the number of ticketless-travellers will decline, he points out. ``In that case, how will we be able to meet our targets,'' he asks.

Additional Divisional Railway Manager Bipin Jha, who is spearheading Fortress Check, claims ignorance of the order. ``If I do not fix targets, how will I be able to gauge their efficiency,'' he counters.