The railways are often pulled up when people die on the tracks. When an NGO conducted a study,it found that in most cases,people who died had trespassed on the railway tracks. So,the NGO decided to intervene and got into work,putting a stop to people from playing with their own lives. The drive,which complemented similar action from the railways,is showing results. Since December,the Goregaon-based NGO,We the People,has been carrying out an extensive drive against trespassing,especially at Goregaon Station of the Western Railway (WR). Some 4,000 people die in railway accidents every year. When we conducted a detailed study,we learnt that most of them are due to trespassing. So why not work on curbing it? Rajesh Gangar,president of the NGO says. In such accidents,trains dont come to you,you enter their territory. Of all WR stations,Goregaon had an alarming accident rate and most mishaps occurred near Jawahar Nagar (gate 27) where commuters trespass on the tracks to cross to the other side or to reach the station. At Goregaon,the NGO deployed volunteers to either prevent commuters from crossing the tracks or hand them over to railway staff to be punished. Our aim was not to prosecute them but change their habit. There were instances when repeat offenders questioned us as to who had given us the right to stop them. Our answer was that their parents and children had, Gangar added. Letters were circulated in housing complexes to motivate residents not to trespass on railway tracks. An essay competition on trespassing,held in collaboration with the WR in 40 schools of Goregaon,also got a good response. To propagate the message,the NGO made jingles to be used as caller tunes. The WR was more than willing to incorporate the NGO into its work as it was already carrying out anti-trespassing drives. The WR,on its part,has been convincing people either through advertisements or by penalising people to desist from trespassing on tracks. Yes,the accident rate at Goregaon has come down to a large extent after the drive, said WR chief spokesperson,Shyam Sunder Gupta.
