Over 300 accidental deaths have been recorded between Egmore and Tambaram in 2013
Picture for representational purpose
Chennai: Areas with high concentration of educational institutions and slums are most prone to fatalities witnessed along railway tracks in the city. If the statistics available with government railway police (GRP) are anything to go by, college students and aimless slum dwellers account for most of the casualties along the tracks in the city. Over 300 accidental deaths have been recorded between Egmore and Tambaram in 2013. The number appears to have reduced this year with only 183 deaths registered until August 31.
Maximum number of deaths were reported between Kodambambakkam and Guindy (76 in 2013 and 56 till August 2014). Of the 2,179 deaths reported in the state till October 31, only 234 were suicides. Death due to natural causes like heart attack and other illness experienced on board trains accounted for another 10 per cent. Though the GRP or RPF have not conducted an analysis of the deaths and the nature of casualties, most of the deaths are attributed to carelessness of people living along the tracks.
A GRP inspector on the stretch says most accidents occur due to slum dwellers drinking, gambling or defecating on tracks. “People cannot ascertain the speed of a train which reaches even before they can move,” said the inspector on condition of anonymity, adding that college students jaywalking on tracks to avoid the main road also contributed to the fatalities.
“I remember the death of a college student near Pazhavanthangal station early this year. She had headphones and was walking on the track unmindful of an approaching train.
We shouted and hurled stones to draw her attention. But she did not pay heed. We saw her hit by the train a few seconds later,” recalled a flower vendor Panchaali (53) of Bharati Street in Pazhavanthangal who required several days to recover from the trauma of witnessing the tragedy.
The GRP has started visiting colleges along the Egmore-Tambaram stretch to minimize accidental deaths. The most recent awareness programme was in Meenakbakkam Jain College near Trisulam. Over 45 people died between Trisulam and Tambaram Sanatorirum until August this year. GRP has mapped Chetpet, Choolaimedu, Kodambakkam and Nungambakkam, which is slum infested and most prone to rail track deaths.
Seema Agarwal, IG, Government Railway Police, said they have planned to increase awareness programmes in slums and colleges to reduce track deaths. Loudspeaker announcements plus distribution of pamphlets at suburban stations and major terminals is only a part of it.
( Source : k. karthikeyan )
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