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Ludhiana: RPF personnel say it was a disaster waiting to happen
Two constables of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), who could be seen in a video screaming and frantically blowing their whistles to stop two-wheelers from crossing
Two constables of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), who could be seen in a video screaming and frantically blowing their whistles to stop two-wheelers from crossing the closed Giaspura railway intersection on Saturday night, narrated the harrowing tale of how things unfolded on the ill-fated night.
“We pulled many from the crowd to safety, but unfortunately could not save the two (who died). This was a tragedy waiting to happen,” said the duo, who tried in vain to vacate the tracks that night.
A Maruti car had gotten stuck at the same spot in 2018. Its driver had narrowly escaped death as the Shatabdi brushed past the vehicle.
Constable Gagandeep Singh, 35, and constable Rajeev Kumar, 41, were busy managing the flow of traffic at the same level crossing on Sunday afternoon as well.
Gagandeep said it was around 8.15pm when there was a huge traffic jam on the road and tracks. When the barricades came down, a siren was blown to alert the people, but commuters on two-wheelers kept trying to dash through the tracks. “An accident could have occurred when the Amritsar–Chandigarh Intercity passed first, but we were able to vacate the track then,” he said. Even though the barricades were still down, people thought it was okay to cross now that the train had passed.
“However minutes after, the New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi came from the other side, on another track, and we rushed to pull two-wheelers away from the speeding train,” Rajeev said.
Gagandeep said he was able to save around five people minutes before the train passed. Meanwhile, Rajeev was pushed away from the tracks by the air pressure from the speeding train.
“I was trying to push a motorcyclist away to the other side of the track when the train arrived,” he said. “It was unfortunate that the duo died. People take their lives for granted and don’t realise they have someone waiting back home,” they said.
