Sidhu seeks fence along rail tracks in densely populated areas

  • | Friday | 26th October, 2018

I strongly believe that we must come up with a stringent mechanism to prevent such mishaps. He stated the railways measure would go in a long way in providing them an opportunity to earn an honest living, and slowly move towards rebuilding a future so violently thrown into uncertainty by a speeding train. Amritsar: After the death of 58 persons, who were mowed down by a speeding train near Joda Phatak in Amritsar, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has sought to build fence along the rail tracks in densely populated areas.Talking to newspersons in Chandigarh on Thursday, Sidhu said, “There is an urgent need to have high fencing along the rail lines, especially in the urban areas that are densely populated so that nobody crosses the tracks and many of the accidents are avoided.”He said he had also written a letter to Union railway minister Piyush Goel suggesting him to put up the fence along the rail tracks.Quoting different reports, he said in the past two years, there had been over 50,000 deaths due to rail mishaps in north India.“This is extremely worrisome and we collectively need to take appropriate measures to save invaluable human lives. “We need to fence the sensitive areas around the rail tracks to ensure that no damage is caused,” he said.He said he would meet the rail minister for a detailed discussion on the subject, adding that he would also talk to Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to see if the state government could offer some help to this end.In recent past, Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa had written to the railways minister asking him to take responsibility for the mishap and also explore if it was possible to sanction licences to family members of the deceased victims to set up stalls or shops on prominent railway platforms. These regular rail accidents definitely indicate that we have lessons to be learned and we need to prevent and prepare rather than repent and repair,” said Sidhu.He also suggested installing CCTV cameras along the rail track in densely populated areas and patrolling to be enhanced along the tracks.When asked about the finances required for the fencing project, Sidhu said the railways ministry had already installed electric poles and fencing those would not cost much.“Still if it is expensive, the railways can prioritize the urban areas where population along the rail tracks is denser,” he suggested.Stating that there were still many unmanned railway crossings in India, he said there was a need for the up gradation of the equipment so that the railway could receive alerts in real time.Giving an example of the Mumbai-Pune highway, he said the same was a classical example of fencing.

Amritsar: After the death of 58 persons, who were mowed down by a speeding train near Joda Phatak in Amritsar, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has sought to build fence along the rail tracks in densely populated areas.Talking to newspersons in Chandigarh on Thursday, Sidhu said, “There is an urgent need to have high fencing along the rail lines, especially in the urban areas that are densely populated so that nobody crosses the tracks and many of the accidents are avoided.”He said he had also written a letter to Union railway minister Piyush Goel suggesting him to put up the fence along the rail tracks.Quoting different reports, he said in the past two years, there had been over 50,000 deaths due to rail mishaps in north India.“This is extremely worrisome and we collectively need to take appropriate measures to save invaluable human lives. I strongly believe that we must come up with a stringent mechanism to prevent such mishaps. These regular rail accidents definitely indicate that we have lessons to be learned and we need to prevent and prepare rather than repent and repair,” said Sidhu.He also suggested installing CCTV cameras along the rail track in densely populated areas and patrolling to be enhanced along the tracks.When asked about the finances required for the fencing project, Sidhu said the railways ministry had already installed electric poles and fencing those would not cost much.“Still if it is expensive, the railways can prioritize the urban areas where population along the rail tracks is denser,” he suggested.Stating that there were still many unmanned railway crossings in India, he said there was a need for the up gradation of the equipment so that the railway could receive alerts in real time.Giving an example of the Mumbai-Pune highway, he said the same was a classical example of fencing. “We need to fence the sensitive areas around the rail tracks to ensure that no damage is caused,” he said.He said he would meet the rail minister for a detailed discussion on the subject, adding that he would also talk to Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to see if the state government could offer some help to this end.In recent past, Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa had written to the railways minister asking him to take responsibility for the mishap and also explore if it was possible to sanction licences to family members of the deceased victims to set up stalls or shops on prominent railway platforms. He stated the railways measure would go in a long way in providing them an opportunity to earn an honest living, and slowly move towards rebuilding a future so violently thrown into uncertainty by a speeding train.

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