Patna: Patna railway station tops the chart in terms of Internet search using the free Wi-Fi service, though the maximum searches were for porn sites, a railway official said on Monday. However, this report was later denied by the public sector undertaking RailTel.
"More than any other railway station in the country, where free Wi-Fi service was launched, the Patna railway station is on the top in the country for using Internet search, particularly search for porn sites," an official of RailTel, a mini-Ratna public sector undertaking (PSU), said.
After Patna, Jaipur railway station is second to use Internet search, followed by Bengaluru and New Delhi.
"It was revealed from our records of use of data by users," the official said.
Patna station, under Danapur Division of East Central Railway, is the first station in Bihar to have free Wi-Fi facility. This railway station is one of the crowded ones with more than 200 trains passing through it daily.
According to RailTel officials, people are using free Wi-Fi for YouTube at Patna, followed by Wikipedia. "More than anything, porn sites have been watched and downloaded by the people at Patna railway station."
Some people have been using free Wi-Fi to download apps, and Bollywood and Hollywood films also.
At present, RailTel is providing 1 gigabite Wi-Fi at the Patna railway station but planning to increase to 10 gb due to slow speed of Internet in view of more use of it by the passengers as well as youths, who regularly spend hours to enjoy free Internet.
Free Wi-Fi service was launched last month at Patna, along with three more railway stations, across India. These stations are Patna in Bihar, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Ranchi in Jharkhand.
To date free Wi-FI facility has been launched at 23 railway stations in the country. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said the government plans to introduce the service at all major railway stations in the country in the next three years.
"By this year-end, free Wi-Fi facility will be launched at 100 major railway stations. We will achieve our target of 400 stations in three years. Once in place, it will be the largest public Wi-Fi system in the world," Prabhu said.
RailTel denies porn viewed at Patna station
However, RailTel later denied the reports that the free Wi-Fi service in Patna railway station was used mostly to view porn.
"The Wi-Fi provided at stations is the platform to millions of users to connect to Internet," a RailTel spokesperson told IANS.
"The guidelines being issued by DoT in this regard from time to time are strictly complied with by RailTel," the spokesperson added.
The service was commissioned by RailTel, in association with Google, for providing high-speed Internet to rail commuters at these places.
The service has been provided under 'Railwire', the retail broadband distribution model of Railtel.
Mumbai Central was the first railway station in the country to enjoy free Wi-Fi facility.
Last year, Google India and Indian Railways joined hands to introduce high-speed Wi-Fi network at 400 stations in the country.
(With agency inputs)