KOLKATA: The last eight months of 2021 has seen more deaths on railway tracks than the entire 2020.
Last year, when local train services remained suspended for seven months, the total deaths on tracks reported by the Sealdah Government Railway Police (GRP) division was 490. This year — when local train services were shut in May are yet to resume — the number has gone up to 562 till August.
In contrast, Howrah GRP that reported 543 deaths in 2020 have recorded 539 deaths till August this year. That is an achievement given Howrah GRP logged a record 1,194 unnatural death cases in 2016.
Bengal has witnessed 15,733 unnatural death cases between 2016 and August 2021. The highest contributors have been Sealdah and Howrah GRP zones with both contributing 5,460 and 5,440 cases respectively. Bengal had brought down crime within the railway police zones. Data reveals, from 2,046 crimes in 2016 to 1,613 crimes in 2019 and barely 695 in 2020-21, efforts made by GRP and RPF to bring down deaths on tracks has not achieved the desired rate of success.
An overall analysis of data shows that Howrah has been steadily reducing the number of unnatural deaths. In 2018 there were 1,074 deaths here. In 2019 there were 14 less cases and the numbers this year are now likely to be slightly higher than last year. In comparison, Sealdah logged 1,123 cases in 2016, 1,071 cases in 2018 and 1,114 cases in 2019. “Sealdah GRP has a thicker population to cover and runs through the greater part of the city. Naturally, trespassing is higher,”explained a GRP officer.
Special drives by both Indian Railways and the GRP seem to have failed to reduce the loss of life. “Eastern Railway makes periodic announcements and carries advertisements against clicking selfies on tracks. We use posters on platforms, distribute of pamphlets and stage plays to spread awareness,”a senior officer said.
