On Wednesday, 15 visually impaired children turned counsellors at the Dadar railway station. In the morning, they counselled those commuters who were detained by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel for crossing the tracks at the station. They offered red roses to the commuters and asked them not to cross the tracks again as there are people who love them and wait for them at their homes.

The exercise, part of the awareness programme initiated by chief security commissioner B S Sidhu, began this week. According to sources, 393 track-crossing cases were reported in 2008. As many as 198 were killed and 195 suffered injuries while crossing the tracks at Dadar. In January 2009, 28 track-crossing cases were reported at Dadar. As many as 14 were killed and 14 suffered injuries.

Apart from these, in Central Railway, Mumbai division, as many as 1,976 line crossing cases (1,381 deaths and 595 injury cases) were registered in 2008. Similarly, 1,915 cases (1,411 deaths and 504 injury cases) were registered in 2007. In 2006, 1,966 line crossing cases (1,459 death and 507 injury cases) were registered.

AN Sansare, senior police inspector, RPF, Dadar station, CR, said, “I think Gandhigiri will be the best way to solve the problem. Today, 15 school girls of Kamla Mehta Blind School, Dadar(East), gave roses with a message to those commuters detained by the RPF.”

According to SC Parhi, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, CR , “This is an awareness programme. Though we detain the trespassers, we leave them after a counselling session. Initially, we started this drive at Matunga station on February 19. Then, we extended the drive to other stations like Dadar, CST, Byculla and Kalyan. We will conduct this awareness programme in all the stations. But people should not take it for granted. Next time, we will take legal action against them, if they cross the tracks.”

... contd.