The death of another gangman on tracks yet again has brought the plight of railway workers back into focus. Gangman Ram Garib was run over by a local train between Andheri and Jogeshwari on Western section on November 13,making him the 27th victim in the last three years on Western and Central lines. While the Western Railway union blames it on the shortage of flagmen who can warn gangmen working on the tracks when a train approaches,the railway administration denies any posts lying vacant. The Central Railway,however,admits that they have 26 vacant posts. The Chief Public Relations Officer (Central Railway),S Mudgerikar,said,The process for recruiting for the vacant posts is on. A senior WR official said on condition of anonymity said,These accidents are caused due to increased rail traffic. Though the administration is doing its best to control such incidents,the gangmen have to be careful. Even a small mistake can be costly. Chief Public Relations Officer of the Western Railway,SS Gupta,said,In suburban sections,the density of traffic is very high and we have been asking our gangmen to be cautious while working on the tracks. In this particular case,while Garib and others were on duty there was a flagman to alert them. As many as 11 gangmen died on the Western line from 2006 to 2009 while three suffered serious injuries. On the Central line,16 gangmen were killed during this period.
