Nellore: Prompted by the increasing number of deaths on the railway tracks every year, government railway police (GRP) wing is all set to launch an awareness campaign in the habitations located close to the railway track and also at the railway stations in Guntakal division.
For instance, 428 persons have been killed in Nellore GRP circle and this includes 174 deaths in Ongole circle which is part of Nellore zone during 2011. The number went up to 440 with 260 in Nellore and 180 in Ongole in 2012.
As many as 410 deaths including 255 in Nellore and 155 in Ongole during the current year up to November. As part of the campaign flex boards will be displayed with pictures of horrifying deaths on the tracks and it will carry a slogan, ‘Stop and look what happened’.
The flex boards will be displayed at vantage points to catch the attention of public and those travelling in the trains.The boards will also be installed at level crossings, railway stations and areas close to the track especially where open defecation on the track is a practice.
DSP of Nellore GRP P.R. Rajendrakumar said that that there were many instances where people crushed to death under the wheels of the trains while defecating on the track. He credited GRP Guntakal range SP N. Janardhan for coming out with awareness campaign idea. He said that stickers containing the phone numbers of GRP inspectors and police stations are also being pasted in the coaches of all trains to enable victims of theft inform the police immediately.
“Majority of the passengers report about thefts after alighting in major stations such as Vijayawada or Chennai though the incident takes place anywhere between the two stations. We activate our men if information is given to the nearest station with the help of phone numbers on display to track down the culprits without wasting time.
We have exchanged the photographs of habitual offenders with railway police of Tamil Nadu and prepared albums for the benefit of our men on duty” Rajendra Kumar said. According to the DSP, beat system in the crime prone trains has been enhanced and Railway Protection Force also extending their support for the measure.
The DSP has appealed to the passengers not to carry valuables such as jewellery and large volumes of cash since the habitual offenders are capable of sniffing and rob them after diverting the attention of those possessing them.
When asked about Closed Circuit Cameras installed in railway stations to keep a tab on the habitual offenders, he lamented over malfunctioning of the cameras in Nellore and Gudur railway stations.
He said that only one camera is working in Nellore but the recording quality is very poor and it is difficult to identify the persons. “We would have apprehended a culprit who had stolen '35 lakh worth of gold recently if the quality of camera located on the main entrance at Nellore was good, unfortunately it was hazy,” Rajendrakumar alleged.
