Preventable deaths and injuries at rail crossings
We have had to witness a spate of deaths and injuries of people in recent times at authorised and unauthorised rail crossings across the country. If we look at the data, there are some 1,412 legal level crossings (approved by Bangladesh Railway) of which only a third is manned. Then we have some 1,085 illegal level crossings. Why do we have so many illegal level crossings?
We are informed by Bangladesh Railway authorities that different government bodies set up level crossings without their prior consent, because seeking consent entails a large fee. The government bodies involved in this illegal activity, according to Bangladesh Railways, range from LGED, union councils, municipalities, to city corporations, contractors, etc.
It is up to the government to streamline the ad-hoc setting up of illegal level crossings by its various departments and bodies, but the question is: why does Bangladesh Railway have only a third of the guards it needs to man the level crossings? Precisely how can safety be ensured for trains and people crossing these points if there are no guards? Rail fatalities and injuries have reduced on a year-to-year basis, but as we can see, there is little by way of prioritising safety of people and vehicles at level crossings—both legal and illegal.
Experts fear that fatalities will increase again if things are allowed to continue as they are. The gung-ho approach adopted by government bodies must come to an end and the Bangladesh Railway should be empowered to dismantle unauthorised level crossings and penalise those bodies that are involved in constructing these. The other side of the coin of course is not simply sensitising people about adhering to the law at these crossings, but actually introducing spot fines. It is high time that tough action is taken because every life lost at a level crossing is a preventable death.
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