E-Paper
Kalyan residents want safety wall along tracks
A day after a 28-year-old woman was run over by a train while she was crossing the track in Kalyan, residents living along the track gathered at the spot and protested against the railway administration.
They blamed the railway authorities for the accident, saying they have not completed building a safety wall parallel to the tracks.
On Wednesday, Antudevi Dubey, who was the resident of Lok Udyan, Sanglewadi, Kalyan (West) died after being hit by a local train at Kalyan railway station. She was a teacher in a Kalyan college.
On Thursday, around 150 residents living in shanties along the railway tracks gathered at the spot, shouting slogans.
“As the construction of the wall is incomplete, many take a short route through the gap and enter the railway premises by crossing track. This is the sixth accident in the past two months,” said Razia Khan, 60, a resident of Sanglewadi in Kalyan.
“Earlier, there was no safety wall. People used to enter the station through the gap between the road and platform number 1. This was safe as one directly entered the platform without crossing the railway track. The safety wall was left incomplete and so commuters took a short route by crossing tracks,” said Fatima Sheikh, 52, a resident of the area.
Sanglewadi and Sarvoday areas, full of buildings and shanties, are near the railway tracks. Many commuters, living in the areas, use the gap of the incomplete safety wall and cross the track to reach the platform.
The locals have demanded the railways to close the gap between the residential area and the railway tracks at the CSMT-end of Kalyan railway station.
“The locals had gathered demanding action as it is a question of their safety. The Government Railway Police (GRP) officers were also present at the spot to appeal to the residents not to use short cuts and risk their lives by crossing railway track. They should use proper entry-exit points and foot overbridges,” said Valmik Shardul, senior police inspector, Kalyan GRP.
According to passengers’ association, it is both railways and commuters are responsible for safety.
“Crossing track is a crime. No one should risk their life to save a few minutes. The railways should have taken necessary steps to cover the gap between the track and residential area,” said Abhijeet Dhurat, president of railway passengers’ association, Kalyan.
Railway officials from Kalyan have assured the residents to restart construction work and build the safety wall.
“The work to build the wall was started six months ago. But, it was stopped due to some reasons. We had written to officials of the Central Railway about the incomplete construction of the wall. As per the security plan, the wall will be built till Patripool, covering both east and west of the railway premises. The wall, 2.4 metres high, was built for only 80 metres till Sanglewadi,” said a senior railway official, Kalyan station.
“As per the plan, the wall will cover 1 kilometre till Patripool area from both sides of the Kalyan station,” added an official.