By Pardeep Luthra ,BATALA- Though six persons of car were killed in Train Car accident in Sagrur district yesterday which seems that the Railway had not listened the leassion from the rail accident in this industrial town where Northern railway had not put the railway crossing for the last 18 months which is inviting for a big rail accident.
Following the construction of a Railway Over Bridge (ROB) with a cost of Rs.13.88 crore on the railway track which was opened for traffic by deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on July 30,the Northern railway had decided to close the railway crossing while constructing a boundary walls along with the railway track but the shopkeepers of the area opposed the boundary and started chain hunger strike which was continued for 28 days and a high level delegate visited the spot and took the stock of situation which decided not to construct boundary wall.
Since then the railway neither construct the boundary wall not reconstruct the railway crossing and track remains open from both sides which would create any threat to the tragedy at any time.
It is to be noted thatthere was a railway crossing on the Dera Baba Nanak road but the northern railway converted the railway crossing into without man crossing after a ROB was constructed on the railway tracks of Amritsar- Pathankot and Amritsar-Qadian.
Though it is necessary to stop the movement of the traffic after removing the railway crossing but the department’s apathy to construct a wall under the bridge to stop the traffic was put on threat the life of thousands of people, who was used the way as the road often remained blocked due traffic jams and no railway crossing pillars increases the chances of accidents.
The railway department shifted their accountability on the superiors on whose order the crossing was removed without the constriction of the walls.
In this regard, President of Amritsar-Pathankot Passenger Association, Suresh Goel told that though the railway department was converting most of the no man crossing into fixed crossing but this step of the department was a big threat to the life of people.
It is pertinent to pertinent to mention here that some of the near-by residents had placed some stones and iron blocks on the railway crossing to put a check on the movement of the traffic but yields no results as the road witness long traffic jams.
When tried to contact Divisional railway manager, he was not available after repeated attempts while the Assistant Railway Traffic Manager, Mr. Sandhu that it was the decision of the higher authorities and the wall will be constructed after he get orders. When question about the accountability of the railway department in case of any accident, he was not able to give any satisfactory reply.