Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Beas in Punjab have been declared the cleanest railway stations in A-1 and A categories respectively. Darbhanga and Jogbani in Bihar were the dirtiest in the two sections, according to a survey by Quality Council of India.

Vishakhapatnam emerged the winner in cleanliness index by securing first position in A-1 category station while Beas in Punjab topped the A category stations, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said in New Delhi.

He was releasing the third survey on cleanliness. The survey is done by the railways to keep a tab on rail premises.

Secunderabad (Telangana) and Jammu station got the second and third place in the A-1 category. In A category, Khammam came second and Ahmedabad third. 

Hazarat Nizammudin and Old Delhi stations in the national capital were placed at 23rd and 24th position while New Delhi station was ranked 39th among the busiest stations in A-1 category.

Varanasi occupied the 14th place in A-1 category. Darbhanga was at the bottom -- 75th position.

Prabhu said: "Railways have accomplished a significant improvement in cleanliness at stations since last year."

He said the biggest challenge for cleanliness on platforms were visitors and passengers.

"The focus is on platform cleanliness, coach cleanliness, toilet cleanliness and track cleanliness," he said.

The cleanliness survey was carried out at 407 stations, of which 75 were in A-1 category or most busy stations and 332 were in A category.

This is a double victory for Visakhapatnam, as it comes less than a month after the Centre released its Swachh Bharat rankings, where the city was ranked the third cleanest one in India. 

Vishakhapatnam had occupied the fifth spot last year and had climbed up to the third position.

Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati city also made it to the top ten.

While Madhya Pradesh's Indore topped the list, five of the ten least clean places were in Uttar Pradesh.

IANS inputs