Hyderabad cops to crack down on motorists crossing tracks

HYDERABAD: Motorists who try to sneak under closed railway gates to cross the tracks will soon have to spend some time cooling their heels behind bars.
In view of the tragic Masaipet school bus-train collision in which 18 schoolchildren lost their lives, railway police are launching a crackdown against errant citizens, who cross the track illegally, and the offenders will be prosecuted under the stringent sections of the Railway Act.
The South Central Railway (SCR) has launched a campaign which will focus on raising awareness levels among people on the risks involved in crossing the railway tracks.
Twenty-five busy manned level crossings in Hyderabad have been identified and at 12 of these spots the campaign kicked off on July 27. A team of cops, comprising personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and traffic police, are educating motorists at the level crossings in Khairatabad, Safilguda, Neredmet, Raj Bhavan Road, Lingampally, Malkajgiri, Uppuguda, Yakutpura, Kacheguda, Timmapur, Umdanagar and Budvel by distributing leaflets and through personal counselling or public announcements through loud speakers.
In the next few days, the awareness campaign will be extended to the remaining 13 locations. After running the campaign at each location for a week, the authorities will book cases against errant motorists, first under the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act and later under the Railway Act.
“In a week’s time, we are planning to book motorists who try to cross the railway gate under Section 199 of the MV Act and issue spot challan for amounts up to Rs 500.
Subsequently, the offenders will be booked under Sections 147 (Trespass), 159 (Disobedience to the order of railway servant) of the Indian Railway Act and they will be prosecuted,” assistant security commissioner, RPF, Secunderabad division, H Srinivasa Rao told TOI.
RPF personnel are initially focusing on busy level crossings in the city. On Wednesday, they arrested a DCM driver for driving in a negligent manner and causing damage to the railway gate at Khairatabad.
As there are pedestrians too crossing tracks at railway stations and also at level crossings, SCR officials are planning to install train-actuated sirens at select stations and level crossings.
“The train-actuated sirens will automatically go on before the arrival of a train warning people not to get on to the tracks. As of now, we have sirens at Sitaphalmandi and Fatehnagar railway stations. New ones are being installed at the level crossings in Khairatabad, Uppuguda and Tukaramagate, Chandanagar, Khairatabad, Sanjeevaiah Park and Bharatnagar railway stations,” a senior railway official said.