Railway tracks turn death traps for drunks

COIMBATORE: Death seems to stalk the railway tracks in Coimbatore. As many as 198 persons lost their lives on railway tracks in Coimbatore and Podanur railway police station limits in the last 10 months. In 2012, the corresponding number was 171.
Ironically, all these deaths are not about people jumping in front of speeding trains. Many of the dead, according to railway police, were people in inebriated state who were hit by speeding trains or fell on railway tracks got run over."Persons who consume alcohol sitting close to the track tend to fall over without looking to check on coming trains. Such incidents usually happen late in the night when they are totally drunk," said M Lawrence, inspector, Coimbatore railway police.
Lawrence gave the example of two friends, B Prabhu (31) and P Vetriselvan (31), both hailing from Chellappa Gounder Layout at Rathinapuri in Coimbatore, who were found dead near a railway track on October 8. The duo had brought beer and snacks from a Tasmac shop and had headed towards the railway track. Their bodies and open beer bottles were found 100m away from the Rathinapuri railway gate. It seems they were hit by a speeding train while walking beside the railway track.
Lawrence added that a majority of the victims were killed because they attempted to cross the track in a careless manner, especially while talking on mobile phone. "Most of the incidents were reported from Chekkan Thottam near Rathinapuri, under the Textool rail over bridge at Ganapathy and Singanallur. Houses are situated on both sides of the railway track and people tend to cross the track," said Lawrence. A Coimbatore Railway Police limit is spread across 111 km and has witnessed maximum casualties. The Coimbatore-Podanur, Coimbatore-Irugur, Irugur-Podanur and Coimbatore-Mettuppalayam lines are here.
According to Podanur railway police, many persons were killed on the tracks between Podanur and Madukkarai. "Suicide cases are very few. Most of the dead persons were killed because they were carelessness. We are creating awareness among the public about the incidents," said Saraswathi, inspector, Podanur railway police.
There strict laws that disallow people from crossing the track other than at designated points. Railway police said violators who try to cross the track can be booked under section 147 of Indian Railways Act, 1989. Crossing the tracks is punishable by imprisonment up to six months, or a fine which may extend up to Rs 1,000 or both.