Local people block railway tracks and prevent trains from passing
Five persons, including a three-year-old boy, were killed when their car was hit by a train at an unmanned level crossing close to the Aroor railway station, 15 km from Kochi on Sunday afternoon.
The No.12998 Hapa-Tirunelveli superfast express hit the car around 2.45 p.m, a few minutes after leaving the Ernakulam station. The car had apparently attempted to cross the railway track and the driver had not noticed the train.
The occupants of the car, including the owner-driver were killed. While three men died instantaneously, local people and the police rushed the boy and one man to a nearby hospital. But the two were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
The dead were identified as Kalathil Sumesh (26) of Aroor; Nefin (3), son of Sumesh’s friend Neythupurackal Vincent; Chellappan (65) of Poochakkal; Karthikeyan (70) of Elamkunnapuzha; and, K.A. Narayanan (65) of Perumbalam. The five were enroute to a function.
Soon after the accident, around 500 people gathered at the accident site and demanded that the railways post a guard at the busy bisection. The narrow Village Office Road cut through the railway tracks and because of a curve trains were not visible to those crossing the tracks, they pointed out. They complained that despite several demands in the past, the authorities had not finished the work on the level crossing. The angry mob blocked the railway tracks and prevented a train from passing.
Ministers visit site
The people raised slogans against the apathy of Railways. Union Minister of Sate for Power K.C. Venugopal and Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, who visited the accident site in about an hour, had to face the wrath of the people. The Ministers assured the people that they would pressure Railways to immediately post guards at the crossing.
OOPS ! What a cold blooded approach to reporting an accident site by The Hindu ! It is high time we stop resorting to detailing a news by so called mallu approach by local Malyalam Newspapers.I used to be proud of the way The Hindu reporting in the past so many years.
Do we need this level of graphical detail, The Hindu? Everything that deserved to be on a newspaper was covered when the accident, it's lead-up and the names of the casualties were reported. There ought to be some restraint when reporting all the gore at the site. It was enough to say that body parts are strewn around the accident site. Instead, the special correspondent went on to list all the grisly details that made my insides churn. What good does it do? It certainly doesn't help those who lost their loved ones. What if they subscribe to The Hindu at home? The mind shudders at the thought! Please show some sensitivity.
These have no barriers, gates, lights or attendant. There will be a give way sign however. Approach with extra caution, stop, look both ways, listen and make sure no train is approaching If ever you break down or have an accident on a level crossing then the first thing to do is to get everyone out of your car and clear of the crossing. Some level crossings will have a railway telephone present if you see one then use it to inform the operator of what's happened. They will give you instructions, which you should follow. If a train isn't due for a fair amount of time then try and push your car clear. If no
railway phone is present then use a mobile to call the police. The above given steps must be used by a driver when he crossing a Open Rail Cross. Please make all the drivers aware of the rule as soon as possible.
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