A record number of 1631 unknown and unclaimed bodies were given an anonymous funeral by the Government Railway Police. These were people who had died on Mumbais lifelines last year. And the total number of people who died last year on the tracks is a whopping 4,069 against 3,692 in 2005. Some of these victims could have survived if railway authorities had attended to them quickly. Instead the injured lay unattended on the tracks for hours before aid could get there.
Statistics reveal that approximately 80 per cent accident victims were killed while crossing the tracks and approximately 94 per cent accidents occurred near the railway station, explained Deputy Commissioner of Police (Government Railway Police) Ramrao Pawar. It is unfortunate that such a large number of deaths go unnoticed, says Pawar adding that on many occasions, the victims are taken to the hospital in an unconscious condition; hence they remain untraced.
Postmortem centers keep unidentified bodies for five days; this can be extended in extreme cases. If police fail to find the victims identity, the bodies are disposed.
The other problem is that no measures are taken to prevent the accident victims from being robbed. So valuables and identity of the deceased are lost even before help reaches and the victims are declared unidentified.
According to the railway procedure the stationmaster should inform the GRP and alert the stretcher hamal so that the injured is rushed to the hospital. But reality is nothing close, alleges social worker Bhavesh Patel. Help seldom reaches on time, says Patel.
A major undercutting racket by a few corrupt officials goes unchecked. Patel explains that a government resolution passed on March 16, 2003 clearly states that the railways pays Rs 500 for moving an injured victim from the track to the nearest hospital. Hamals receive at least Rs 50, if not more for transporting the victim.
However hamals at Dadar railway station claim they are paid only Rs 20 each for lifting the injured/dead on the tracks. They are not even provided gloves by the railways and depend on KEM or Sion hospitals for these.
Patel adds that at smaller stations, where ambulance and porters are not available, the GRP utilise the service of drug addicts to move the injured off the tracks for a payment of Rs 10 each.
Divisional Railway Manager R S Vidri says, We are building boundary walls and foot over bridges but commuters trespass on the tracks and get run over by the local trains. GRP need to look into the issue.
However Railway police commissioner Suresh Khopade says, Commuters need to be counseled. We are looking into the matter.
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