Railways to shoot aerial videos of its land to keep a record of rising illegal encroachments on its property and take action against them
Slums along the tracks at Bandra East station
Smile, you are on camera! This is for the thousands who have illegally encroached on railway land. For the first time, Indian Railways will shoot video of their land, whether or not it has tracks on it, is encroached on by slums or is vacant.
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Also read: Western Railway launches anti-encroachment drive near Bandra station
Minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain, who was in the city, told mid-day yesterday, "I have asked officials here to take videos of the rail land (here) to have on record the precise encroachments."
Sources said aerial videos will be shot of the entire stretch. "The land will be constantly monitored in this manner and reviewed every two months. If it is found that there is a rise in the number of illegal encroachments, action will be taken against railway officials," added Gohain.
This is an important decision, as finally the railways will be putting the onus on its officers if seriousness is not shown in controlling illegal encroachment. During this period, railway authorities will get in touch with the state government and local corporations for help in clearing the encroachments and rehabilitating people.
Gohain said there are several hurdles in removing these encroachments for both the state government and railways. Also, the fact remains that almost 60 per cent of deaths on tracks are due to trespassing, with a majority of victims being those residing in the slums along the tracks.
Protests
On January 13, slum dwellers came out on the tracks to protest a demolition drive, blocking all six lines between Kalyan and Thane.
Similarly, on January 20, hundreds of people residing illegally next to the tracks at Titwala protested after the local corporation officials came to demolish their structures.
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