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Journalism of Courage
Pointing out that more than 600 people have been killed after falling off local trains so far this year, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has written to Western Railways (WR) asking for rubber grips to be fixed onto central poles on each local train. The GRP believes that introducing rubberised poles and hand holds near train doors will prevent incidences of passengers being killed or injured after falling off trains.
The latest such death took place at Churchgate railway station on October 22. Chandrashekhar Mandal (30) was killed after falling into the gap between a train and platform as he was trying to board the moving train.
Mandal, who hailed from Bihar, worked as a driver and lived in Churchgate. In CCTV footage examined by the GRP, just past 10 pm on October 22, Mandal is seen entering Platform 1 through a side entrance and running towards a moving train. He runs and few steps and jumps into a compartment, but his grip on the pole slips and he falls down and disappears below the train.
In its reply on October 14, WR said that rubber grips had failed to provide a solution in the past According to data available with GRP, a total of 612 deaths have taken place on both the Western and Central lines until September as a result of passengers falling off trains. As many as 559 of these fatalities were men and 53 women.
srinath.rao@expressindia.com
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