Railway safety proposals gathering dust for years

DC CORRESPONDENT | July 27, 2014,

Picture for representational purpose (Photo: DC archives)

Hyderabad: Despite railway accidents  claiming many   lives over the years, safety measures  recommended in several reports have not been implemented effectively.
These safety lapses  result in 3,500 to 4,000 accidents (around 400 deaths)  annually.
Unmanned level crossing accidents result in  36 per cent of the total accidents, resulting in 59 per cent deaths and 32 per cent injuries, according to  data.
Experts of the Anil Kakodkar Committee in 2012 had recommended mechanisation of tracks and elimination of unmanned level crossings.
But, budgetary constraints posed a challenge for implementation of these.
“We lose 1,500 workers annually due to slow  progress in  modernisation,” said Shankara Rao, general secretary of the SCR Mazdoor Union.
Meanwhile, four children injured in Thursday’s deadly bus-train collission, are in a critical state and on ventilator; three children are in a serious condition, while 13 are stable.