E-Paper
19 deaths in 5 years: Activist seeks safety audit of railway platform
There were six deaths in 2019, three in 2020, four in 2022 and six again in 2023. The Union railway minister has been requested to constitute a high level committee which can conduct a safety audit of Raja Ki Mandi railway station. This may highlight the technical lapses on the platform and how they can be resolved. This should be put in the public domain so that effective measures may be taken, said the activist KC Jain, also a lawyer.
Agra Raising the issue of deaths on the platform of Raja Ki Mandi railway station in the heart of the Taj city, an RTI activist has written a letter to the Union railway minister seeking safety audit of the railway platform.
According to the activist KC Jain, the information sought under RTI revealed that 19 people died on Raja Ki Mandi platform, the latest being a doctor who lost his balance while getting down from a moving train and falling on the train track on November 5 .
“There were 19 deaths within five years (2019-2023) on the platform of Raja Ki Mandi as revealed by the office of deputy superintendent of police (Government Railway Police) in a reply dated November 26 to information sought under Right To Information (RTI) Act,” said Jain.
“This necessitates a safety audit. A letter has been written to Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw drawing his attention to these deaths,” said Jain who is also a lawyer.
“There were six deaths in 2019, three in 2020, four in 2022 and six again in 2023. The Union railway minister has been requested to constitute a high level committee which can conduct a safety audit of Raja Ki Mandi railway station. This may highlight the technical lapses on the platform and how they can be resolved. This should be put in the public domain so that effective measures may be taken,” said Jain .
The recent death of Dr Lakhan Singh Galab at Raja Ki Mandi railway station on November 5 had shocked the city. Dr Galab was at the station to see his daughter off to Delhi but was late in getting down from the train and in desperation to continue holding the bar at the gate of the coach, doctor fell in the gap between platform and train and was crushed to death .
Raja Ki Mandi station has been in the news for varied reason . There exists a temple on the main platform and according to railway authorities its shifting is required for safety of passengers. The Railways had made attempts for this but every time the idea was shelved because of opposition .
Lastly, a notice was served to the head priest of Chamunda Devi Temple on the platform on April 20, 2022 and 10 days’ time was granted to shift the temple.
As per the Railway authorities, because of the temple, there is a curve and the gap between the footrest of the train and the platform increases, which is not safe for passengers. Besides, this sharp curve at Raja Ki Mandi station also hampers the speed of the trains. The speed of the train needs to be enhanced to 120 km/per hour but has to be reduced to 70km/per hour to negotiate the curve safely, as per the hold authorities.
But the move to shift the temple agitated the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists and they recited the Hanuman Chalisa at the office of the divisional railway manager (DRM), Agra division of North Central Railway (NCR) to lodge their protest last year. Interestingly, the mahant (head priest) of Chamunda Devi temple received support from some Muslim activists who, led by BJP leader Shabana Khandelwal, opposed any move by the railways to shift the shrine. “The 300-year-old Chamunda Devi temple was already in existence in 1904. The Raja Ki Mandi station was shifted here in 1910. The matter related with the temple had been taken (up) by the Allahabad high court. The commissioner, Agra division, was asked to look after the management of the temple vide order dated 02.04.2009 and in pursuance, a letter dated 31.05.2011 was written to the Railway authorities by SDM Agra,” said VHP’s Digvijay Nath Tiwari.
