Their journey on the local proved their last for 16-year-old Nilesh Ghawte and 25-year-old Govind Rathod early this month. Pole No 164, which commuters say is “perilously close” to the track at Begdewadi, was the killer. This year, eight persons died between Begdewadi and Dehu Road after hitting poles and four of them had hit Pole 164. Apart from these eight, 32 persons have died after falling from local and express trains between Pune and Lonavala till December 24. But more shocking is that a staggering 231 citizens were run over on the 60-km stretch between Pune and Lonavala. The 270 were part of a total of 366 persons who died on the tracks between Loni and Lonavala under Pune division of the Central Railway till December 24 and between Pune and Nira under the jurisdiction of the Government Railway Police (GRP). The distance from Loni to Pune is 20 km, and from Pune to Nira 80 km. Mohan Bankar, assistant police inspector of the Government Railway Police (GRP), conceded that the tracks between Pune and Lonavala marked the killer stretch. Several deaths were avoidable but even after the mishaps, citizens simply don’t care, he said. “Death of commuters who fall from running trains or are run over while crossing the track are common,” Bankar said. Commuters often fall from crowded trains or slip from compartments. Commuters trying to board trains, who slip, fall and are run over are reported often, he said. The figures of the last three years speak for themselves. In 2007, 389 persons died on the tracks. The number was 344 in 2006 and 389 in 2005.Central Railway officials said they were concerned about the large number of deaths. Educating commuters is a priority area for the railways, said Divisional Railway Manager D K Jain. “We are doing our best to educate commuters. What is unnerving is that highly qualified persons have also died crossing railway tracks, showing that commuters have scant regard for their own safety,” he said. As regards the “perilously close” poles, Jain said Pole 164 was being moved away. “The poles were laid 75 years back. The problem is that youngsters hang out of compartments. If poles are really close, the number of victims would have been much higher,” he said. “I have issued directions that ‘maximum dimension’ criteria be applied so that the pole is shifted a little away from the tracks.”
