KHAIRAHI (SONBHADRA): Twenty-four hours after boom barriers fell on No. 28C, Chunar-Chopan , near Khairahi railway station, 180km from Allahabad, erasing the last unmanned level crossing on the Indian Railways map, a TOI recce found the vulnerable stretch was the lifeline to over 2,000 children with scores of educational institutes, including schools and skill training centres dotting both sides of the level crossing.And these schoolchildren perhaps knew train timings better than their curriculum while negotiating a blind turn to cross over. "It was often touch and go," said Abdul Sakir, a class 11 student.And while Khairahi village with a population of over 25,000, wriggles out of anonymity to celebrate its moment of pride, the poignancy could not be missed. It was exactly five years ago on a foggy February evening that a retired gangman with the Railways, Jamaluddin, lost his 22-year-old son at the death-trap point. Blood spilled on tracks on February 13, 2014, when Shahnawaz, an auto driver , and another villager, Khairullah, were run over by a speeding train.Talking to TOI, a tearyeyed Jamaluddin said, “Around 6am, I went to Khairahi station to board the Chopan-Chunar-Mirzapur passenger train. On way to the platform, I saw the train had halted near the level crossing and a big crowd near the engine. Station staff murmured, there was an accident. As I walked along the tracks, I found the body of my son, Shahnawaz, lying in a pool of blood. He was driving his auto on the potholeridden stretch at the crossing and failed to see the train coming. He died at a hospital in Varanasi. Had there been barriers, my son would have been alive today.”No different is the story of Kuraisha. Her 42-year-old husband Khairullah also died in the accident. “He worked as barber and was the sole earning member of a family of six. On the day of tragedy, he was going to the paddy processing centre in the auto driven by Shahnawaz. The wheels got stuck in a pothole and the train rammed the stranded auto. We did not receive any aid from the government, but we hope Khairahi village is safe now.” There are two primary schools on the north of the Chunar-Chopan crossing and 20 educational institutes, including an industrial training institute and a degree and two intermediate colleges, apart from 14 private schools.“Every day, the level crossing is used by around 2,000 students from over 20 villages that straddle the Khairahi hinterland. “After the 2014 tragedy, parents of children would keep vigil near the tracks till they crossed over to reach school,” said a local teacher, Basawan.Abdul Sakir, a student, said, “Most trains pass the level crossing during morning hours when we go to school. And the blind turn keeps us guessing about an approaching train. We don’t cross over on bicycles. We fear if we trip on a pothole, we could be run over.” Sakeena, a Class 10 student, said, “Before leaving home, we are repeatedly cautioned by parents and told to move in groups while crossing the tracks.”Khairahi gram pradhan, Devnath Yadav, said, “The road on the level crossing links Robertsganj-Mirzapur highway with Varanasi-Shaktinagar highway at Maddhupur. Many passenger and goods trains are shifted on this route to ease railway traffic and this keeps us on the edge every day.”Mohd Israr, the first gateman appointed at Chunar-Chopan, said, “My responsibility is big and so are expectations of villagers. It’s a proud moment for me and residents of Khairahi. Minister of state Manoj Sinha inaugurated the manned crossing through video-conferencing on Saturday, but I got the opportunity to lift the barriers.” Israr, a local resident, started his job with the Railways as a gangman in 2015 and got a home posting as reward for good performance. Currently, he’s manually operating the boom barriers, but it will soon be operated through electricity, he said.Station master of Khairahi, Ram Raksha Yadav, said, “Four level crossings, including 26C Maruha, 28C, 32C Kakrahi and 33C Kathpurva comes under the jurisdiction of Khairahi railway station. Kakrahi had old barriers, but Kathpurva and Maruha has been equipped. Khairahi was the last to become a manned level crossing.”

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