Railway crossing closed for construction, students, parents cross tracks risking lives

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, July 24

The railway crossing at Shastri Nagar here has been lying closed for the past almost one week owing to the laying of new rail tracks. Students and parents going to two private schools in the area have been putting their lives at risk by crossing the tracks near the crossing.

During a visit to Shastri Nagar to witness the situation, it was noticed that in the morning and afternoon, most of the parents and students were crossing the tracks with impunity. No official of the Railways Department or the GRP is keeping a check on the situation.

In the morning, parents park their vehicles along the railway tracks on the Model Gram side. After crossing the tracks, they walk towards the schools in Shastri Nagar. After dropping their wards, they again cross the tracks to reach their vehicles. The situation is the same during afternoon when the parents come to pick their wards from the schools. Though in most of the cases parents accompany their wards while crossing the tracks and they may be taking due precautions, some students cross the tracks alone. On Wednesday afternoon, some students, who commute to their schools on bicycles, were captured crossing the tracks to reach the Model Gram side alone.

“Since the main railway crossing is closed, parents who drop and pick up their children have to cross the tracks. It not only saves the time but also fuel, otherwise they have to take a long route to reach the school. It is illegal to cross the tracks and we might putting our lives in danger but we stay alert while crossing the tracks to avoid any untoward incident,” a woman said when she was asked about the reason of opting for the risky way.

Another parent, who came to pick his son from his school, said students who were crossing the tracks under the supervision of their parents might not be having any risk to their lives but those children who cross the tracks alone or with their bicycles are definitely putting their lives at risk. Even the construction machinery and material lying near the tracks along with vehicles engaged in the construction work also pose a threat to the commuters.

Notably, the railway crossing at Shastri Nagar has been closed from July 19 to July 26.

No check by authorities concerned

During a visit to Shastri Nagar, it was noticed that in the morning and afternoon, most of the parents and students were crossing the tracks with impunity. No official of the Railways Department or the GRP is keeping a check on the situation.