Fatal call: 3 die every day on city railway tracks

In 2016, 1,297 people – or over three persons a day–lost their lives on the tracks inside the Chennai Railway Police District (data inclusive of suicides). The Railway Police officials fear that unless awareness levels are raised against this mobile menace, such deaths would go up on the tracks in Chennai. The data for this year is yet to be officially released. 

During its investigation, the GRP found that most of the victims were only focused on their mobile phones , totally unaware of their surroundings and a fast-approaching train. 

“When people are glued to their mobile phone, they lose all sense of their surroundings and this has been a major cause for accidents,” a senior official attached to the GRP said. 

In a desperate bid to raise awareness, the GRP recently conducted a programme where all the persons who were using their mobile phones-many with the headphones on-were made to write an imposition, highlighting the dangers of using mobile phones and headphones during train travel. This move was strongly criticised by the rights activists. 

GRP sources say that they wanted to send across the message to the youth, who are completely careless while travelling because their full attention is on their mobile phones.

“We are conducting several awareness programmes against the selfie culture and overt use of mobile phones while travelling. We have prepared street plays, skits and videos conveying the dangers of doing such things near railway tracks and on board,” K K Ashraf, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, Chennai said.

Both GRP and RPF have been going to colleges and other educational institutions to conduct classes regarding the dangers of being oblivious to the safety of life and limb while travelling on board, or near railway tracks. 

A number of students have lost their lives while trying to take selfies with a moving train as the back ground or while hanging out of a train. “Apart from the security aspect, GRP is also worried about the increasing number of cases of phone snatchings,” an official said. 

According to GRP data, 1,569 mobile phones were either stolen or lost in the Chennai circle out of which only 631 have been recovered. Sources said the actual number could be much higher, as many cases do not get reported or cases are not registered. 

“In areas like Perambur and Vyasarpadi, there are gangs who wait with long sticks near the railway track and if they see a passenger hooked to their mobile phone and standing near the door way or travelling on the footboard, they hit them on their hand with the stick and the mobile phone will fall off. They then collect it and escape,” the GRP official added.

The law enforcement agencies find it difficult to control the use of mobile phones as there is no legal provision to stop the passengers from using the mobile phones near railway tracks or in the stations. 

“There is no provision for enacting a law to curb this trend. Awareness is key and the passengers should realise they are only risking their lives if they get glued on to their phones while travelling,” another official added.