Stone pelting on trains: RPF woos kids, gives away chocolates, toys, sports items
New Delhi: By giving away chocolates, toys, sports items to children, the Railway Protection Forces (RPF) strives to stop stone pelting on passing trains. The Nukkad Nataks are also being used to raise awareness in the slums nearby tracks in the city.
According to RPF, during the investigation, it was found that in some cases children were indulged in stone pelting in the trains endangering lives of passengers. "The children living near clusters take throwing the stone as a game to aim on trains," said RPF official.
The official further said," they have identified the places in Delhi from where the pelting was reported. Patel Nagar is the most affected area," the officer added. Sometimes passengers who face such incidents also disclosed that children were behind throwing the stone on passing trains.
Rajiv Kumar Verma, senior DSC of the Indian Railways told Millennium Post that they started giving chocolates to kids and also distribute toys so that children engage themselves in other positive activities rather than pelting stones. "We also counselled their parents for keeping away their kids from railway tracks as it is risky," added Rajiv Kumar.
Another RPF official stated that they are also planning to give children some sports items so that they can leave throwing stones and play sports. "We counsel these kids to make them aware about the importance of education," said official.
On January 18, RPF (Patel Nagar) organised an awareness programme (Nukad Natak) against stone pelting with the help of an NGO on the platform at Dayabasti railway station which is adjacent to the slum clusters beside the railway track.
ASC (DLI/WEST) spoke with the parents and their children who gathered to see the programme and conveyed the message of how the safety of passengers travelling in the train is endangered by pelting stone. "During the programme, pamphlets were distributed and stickers were pasted in the section to give wide publicity. In the end, toffees were given to the children," said an RPF officer.
Apart from curbing stone pelting, another focus area of RPF is to rein in human trafficking for which regular patrolling is going on and also posters are pasted in different railway stations containing detailed information regarding helpline number and possible signs of a human trafficker and trafficked child written.
