Another train derails in Mumbai Central
Mumbai:
Although the incident took place during shunting and the train was empty,
commuter groups decry poor maintenance. For reasons authorities are still
inquiring into, suburban trains can’t seem to stay on track for long. Within
days of the mishap at Titwala when five bogeys of a CST-bound train derailed on
Thursday,
killing one and injuring 23, another train derailed at Mumbai Central
on Saturday.
Although
there were no casualties this time – the train was empty as it was being
shunted into a car shed – city railway users forums are pointing to poor
maintenance and tremendous load on suburban lines. Official figures 10 major
and minor mishaps have occurred between 2011 and 2013, with five in 2012-13
alone.
“Local
trains are getting derailed because suburban lines are so busy. Repairs are
done in a hurry, compromising basic maintenance schedules. This is leading to
derailments,” Shailesh Goyal, member, WR Zonal Railway Users Consultative
Committee, said.
Another
member, Rajiv Singhal, added, “All derailments happen because of maintenance
issues. It is high time that responsibility is fixed and those responsible are
pulled up. Vishwanath Dhatrak, general secretary, Upanagariya Pravasi Railway
Mahasangh, said the Railways is not paying enough attention to track upkeep.
Meanwhile,
Western Railways sought to downplay Saturday’s accident. “The coaches were
being shunted when the train derailed inside the yard at 11.30 am. It was put
back on the line soon. It was an empty train,” Sharat Chandrayan, WR’s chief
spokesperson, said.
Titwala
mishap victim’s family starts facebook campaign
The
family of Dhaval Lodaya, an HSC student who was killed in the Titwala mishap,
have launched a Facebook campaign called ‘Justice for Dhaval Lodaya’. The
Lodayas claim Dhaval lost his life due to the “Railways’ and RPF’s negligence
and incompetency”. Till Saturday evening, the page had 11,000 ‘likes’.
Friends
who were travelling with Dhaval that day have posted a detailed account of what
took place on the illfated train, and have blamed the police and a local
corporator for not extending help.
The
government’s ambulance helpline 108 also proved to be useless, they claimed.
“We lost
our only son not due to an accident but the negligence and incompetency of our
disaster management system and the negative approach of the Indian Railways and
railway police,” the family posted on the page.
BJP
leader Kirit Somaiya has sent a legal notice to Central Railways blaming it for
for Dhaval’s death by negligence, lack of implementation of the disaster
management system, lack of safety and insensitive approach.
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