Railway violations rise in Ludhiana after Amritsar tragedy

LUDHIANA: Despite several awareness initiatives of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in the wake of Amritsar tragedy — in which 59 people were killed and several injured — track crossing cases at the city station have only increased significantly as compared to last year, reveals the data shared by an RPF official before the local railway authorities here on Wednesday.
Apart from a rise in track crossings, other violations — including unauthorized vendors, disobedience of railway instructions (wrong parking or littering in the open) — have also been reported on a large scale throughout the year.
RPF in -charge (Ludhiana) Pawan Vashisht informed: “It seems passengers did not learn any lesson from the recent Amritsar tragedy, as cases of trespassing have only increased from 585 (last year) to 882 this year (until November -end). Also, while there were 107 cases of track crossing in October this year, in November (after the rail tragedy), it shot up to 119. Besides, there were 59 cases in November last year, as compared to 119 this year.”
In the one and a half months after the Amritsar tragedy, 15 people have lost their lives while crossing railway tracks in the jurisdiction of Ludhiana GRP. Satwinder Singh, munshi of Government Railway Police (GRP), said, “Railway authorities are making announcements several times a day at the station, instruction boards are also put up, and street plays are being enacted in rural areas on a regular basis to create awareness about the danger of crossing railway tracks, besides spreading information through print and electronic media.