New Delhi: The grim train mishap in Amritsar, where a crowd of Dussehra revellers were mowed down on railway tracks while watching the burning of the Ravana effigy, has once again brought to the limelight the perils of crossing railway tracks.
In Delhi, a major cause of concern is the abundance of slum clusters near railway tracks, where people often carelessly venture out and risk their lives.
The Railway unit of Delhi Police, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Dinesh Gupta, oversees security in 45 railway stations and across 150 km of railway tracks, through its seven police stations in Delhi.
"Many people dwell near railway stations or train tracks, which makes them vulnerable," said Gupta, adding that most accident-prone railway tracks are situated in North East, North, Central Delhi districts. "We are putting all our efforts to make them aware that crossing these tracks is not safe," he said.
In May, four persons were found dead on Delhi's railway tracks in two separate incidents. Investigators suspected that these mishaps occurred while trying to cross the tracks.
On October 16, a man was killed and five others injured after they were hit by an EMU train while crossing a closed level crossing in Ghaziabad.
"Many people cross the tracks to save time, which results in fatalities," a Delhi Police investigator informed.
A recent security audit by Delhi Police revealed that in five railway stations, people easily enter the station premises unnoticed through tracks, which is a major cause of casualties and a serious security issue for authorities.
Gupta stated that the Railway police, along with Railway Protection Force, conducts patrolling on tracks time to time, to ensure no one enters platform via unmanned tracks.
Moreover, the data on accidental deaths within Railway police jurisdiction – accessed by Millennium Post – stated that in 2016, 816 men and 82 women lost their lives in rail accidents.
Last year, the numbers were 790 persons (695 men and 95 women. This year, till August 7, as many as 492 casualties – 457 men and 35 women – were reported. "Most slum clusters are close to railway tracks and when residents here cross tracks, sometimes in the dark, and are hit by oncoming trains," said a police officer, adding that they have also written to other concerned agency regarding safety and security.
A senior official from Northern Railways said they are using nukkad natak to spread awareness among people about the perils of crossing railway tracks. Several structures, like foot over-bridges, have been built for passengers to safely cross railway tracks.
Meanwhile, at a recent meeting held by the Railway Board, under supervision of chairman Ashwani Lohani, a detailed safety performance review was undertaken with all members of Railway Board and general managers of Zonal Railways in attendance.
Lohani directed the Zonal Railways to improve performance by keeping a focused approach to meet all standards of safety and to complete related infrastructure works like track renewal, doubling of busy sections, laying new lines to ease pressure on the existing ones.