Mumbai: Bhavesh Nakhate's death has brought to fore the pressing but often overlooked issue of commuter safety in Mumbai suburban trains.
The 21 year old died after losing his grip in an overcrowded suburban train in Mumbai.
During peak hours in Mumbai locals, as many as sixteen people are forced to stand in less than one square metre of floor space
Over 4,500 passengers are packed into a nin-car trains during peak hours, as against the rated carrying capacity of 1,700.⎛]
With an estimated annual ridership (2.64 billion), the Mumbai Suburban Railway is one of the busiest and overcrowded railways system in the world.
In 2014, 797 people died after falling from local trains and and the toll this year has already reached 697 (till November 20).
The worst year in terms of such casualties was 2013, when 901 people died after falling from trains.
According to an RTI report, the number of deaths due to victims falling from local trains has gone up in the last decade.
In 2005, 494 deaths were reported after falling from local trains, and the toll this year has already reached 697 (till November 20).
Most of the passengers fall or slip from the running trains when they struggle to get into a coach and fail to
enter it or get dashed against a pole near the railway track.
Rail activists have dubbed the suburban railway network as a 'silent killer' due to the alarming number of deaths and injuries on tracks, saying the lifeline is proving to be a "virtual death trap"
An average of nine persons lost their lives daily due to accidents, suicides or natural deaths while on the move in suburban Mumbai Railway,the lifeline of the country's financial capital in 2014.
The data of 'Accidental Deaths - Year 2014' available with the Government Railway Police (GRP) states 2,221 deaths occurred on Central Railway (CR) network and 1,202 fatalities on the Western Railway (WR).
According to an RTI report, a whopping 25,722 passengers fell from suburban trains (travelling on Western, Central and Harbour suburban services in Mumbai Commissionerate) in last 10 years, of whom 6,989 commuters died while 18,733 survived.
In 2005, total 494 commuters lost their lives after falling from running trains. This figure went up subsequently in the coming years and reached upto 901 in 2013, up 82 per cent as compared to the death toll in 2005, said activist Anis Khan quoting a reply received from Government Railway Police (GRP), Mumbai.
Khan said the railway administration has “completely failed” to provide a safe and comfortable journey to the people.
“The basic reason why people are dying like animals is that railway officers have entirely failed to comprehend the
hardships of the commuters…and the basic reason behind this (inability to comprehend the problems) is that officers never travel in local trains,” he said.
As per the statistics provided under the RTI query, apart from 6,989 passengers who died after falling from trains, 22,289 passengers succumbed while crossing the tracks (trespassing).
