Hyderabad: The state government has blamed the Railways for neglecting to set up gates at unmanned level crossings. The Railways, however, blamed the bus driver and said that at unmanned crossings, trains have the right of way and need not slow down.
The only thing it needs to do is to blow the horn, which the driver had done. “Motorists should stop, look and proceed at railway gates. We have warnings, safety boards and speed breakers in place at the spot,” said railway protection force security commissioner S.C. Parhi.
However, home minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy said, “The villagers have been requesting the Railways to set up a gate and man the crossing. Several memorandums were submitted but nothing was done.” The unmanned crossing at Masaipet was to be converted to a level crossing several years ago.
Masaipet station sarpanch Madhusudhan Reddy said he had handed over several petitions to the SCR. While one local said the area was an accident-prone crossing, the Railways, said traffic density here is less.
The Railways also said that road visibility in the area is clear and the crossing has all requisite safety infrastructure in place.
