Ashamed to see commuters travelling like cattle: High Court on Mumbai local trains
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it was ashamed to see commuters forced to travel like cattle in the local trains, the lifeline of the Mumbai region.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on rising number of deaths of commuters due to falling from overcrowded trains or in other accidents on the tracks, the high court said this "very very serious" issue must be dealt with.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said it will hold the top officials of both the Central and Western Railways accountable as the "situation in Mumbai is pathetic".
The PIL was filed by Yatin Jadhav.
"Very very serious issue has been raised in the PIL and therefore you (railway authorities) have to address it. You can't say, we can't do this or can't do that due to the large number of people (in the city). You carry people like cattle. We feel ashamed at the manner in which commuters are made to commute," the court said.
The bench directed the general managers (GM) of the Western and Central Railways to "look into the entire issue" and file affidavits in response.
The affidavits shall be "personally vetted" by the GMs and "indicate the measures which are available and are in force to check such mishaps," said the court.
It would hear the PIL next after eight weeks, the HC said.
As per the petition, 2,590 commuters lost their lives on the tracks in 2023, which was seven deaths every day. As many as 2,441 persons were injured during the same period.
While 1,650 people were killed in accidents on the Central Railway route, 940 died on the Western Railway.
Advocate Suresh Kumar, appearing for the Western Railway, said it was taking measures such as putting up barricades between tracks and construction of two or three foot-over-bridges at every station. The WR has implemented HC directions passed in an earlier PIL on the issue, he added.
"You should not depend only on orders for saving people's lives. We agree you have followed those directions. But have you been able to check these deaths? Question is whether it (measures) has yielded results? Have you been able to reduce or stop deaths," asked the bench.
Kumar pointed out that the WR was running services at the highest possible frequency, with trains leaving every 2-3 minutes during peak hours.
The high court said it was not suggesting that the Railways increase the number of trains or their capacity, but a solution has to be found.
"This time we will make the highest-level officers accountable. The situation in Mumbai is pathetic," the bench said.
"You (Railways) can't feel happy that you have been ferrying 35 lakh people daily. You can't say considering the number of people in Mumbai you are doing a good job. You can't even take a refuge saying there are too many people. You have to change your mindset. Your officers need not be satisfied by commuting such a large number of commuters," it added.
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Taxi driver's death at Delhi Airport leaves family in financial crisis
New Delhi: Heavy rains caused the roof of Delhi Airport's Terminal 1 to collapse on Saturday night, resulting in the tragic death of a 45-year-old taxi driver, Ramesh Kumar. Ramesh, a resident of Vijay Vihar in Rohini, Delhi, was rescued from a car struck by a fallen iron beam but was declared dead upon arrival at Medanta Hospital.
Ramesh's death has left his family devastated. He was the sole breadwinner for his family, which includes two sons and two daughters. His son, Ravindra, expressed deep concern about how the family will cope without his father's support, especially with two upcoming weddings.
"We received a call at 8:30 am informing us that our father had fainted at the airport and was taken to the hospital. They didn't tell us about the tragedy," Ravindra recounted. "When we arrived at the airport, the cops took us to a police station and kept us there until 4 pm. Only later did they take us to the hospital, where we learned he had died. We had to wait 2-3 hours before being told to come back the next day to collect the body after the post-mortem."
The family's grief has been compounded by the fact that Ramesh's daughters' weddings are upcoming, and they are now worried about how they will manage the expenses.
The family is now demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident and seeking adequate compensation from the government to manage the financial burden of the upcoming weddings and other expenses.
The incident occurred around 5 am at the busy Terminal 1 of the airport. The heavy rains led to the collapse of the massive canopy covering the departure area, trapping several people underneath. The fallen roof sheet and support beams also pinned down parked cars.
Videos circulating on social media showed accumulated water and visible cracks and leaks on the shed, highlighting the poor condition of the structure.
