TATA MEMORIAL STUDY REVEALS SHOCKING DATA - GRP sitting on a ticking C-bomb

May 24 2016 : Mirror (Mumbai)

TATA MEMORIAL STUDY REVEALS SHOCKING DATA - GRP sitting on a ticking C-bomb

Iram Siddique TWEETS @MumbaiMirror





Pre-oral cancer preventive tests carried out on Government Railway Police constables addicted to chewing tobacco has produced shocking results, with 24 out of 29 tested so far found to be in the pre-cancer stage, that is just seven years away from full-blown cancer.One of the constables tested was found to be just a year away from the stage where chemotherapy would be his only hope if he did not kick the habit. All the 24 constables are now being counselled ­ in groups and also individually.
The cancer testing is being undertaken by a team of five doctors of the Tata Memorial Centre following an earlier oral hygiene study among these constables revealed extremely poor standards. The results of pre-oral cancer study have, however, shocked even the doctors. “We had not imagined that the percentage of GRP constables in the high-risk category would be so high. The GRP is sitting on ticking cancer bomb,“ said a doctor who did not wish to be identified.
During the testing pre-oral cancer tests carried out over the past two days, the constables were put through an oral clinical examination, followed by a VELscope examination and finally a cytology test.
Tests revealed that out of the 24, eight suffered from submucus fibrosis, which is a medical condition in which the patient's mouth does not open more than 2 cm. In sub-mucous fibrosis, which make it difficult for doctors to examine the insides of a patient's mouth, it is assumed that he suffering from leucoplacia, which is existence of white patches.
A doctor explained that with leucoplacia, the patient is likely to enter the first stage of cancer in the next seven to eight years if he continues with the habit of chewing tobacco. One constable was found to be suffering from erythoriplakia, which is presence of red patches, indicating that he would have cancer within a year if he did not give up tobacco.
Dr Kshama Vairagi, research counsellor of Tata Memorial Hospital said the reason most of the constables checked gave for consuming tobacco was professional stress. “However, the effect of nicotine to release stress is more psychological. In our group and individual sessions, we are trying to tell the constables that tobacco is, in fact, adding to their stress by compromising their longterm well-being,“ she said.
The pre-oral testing camp was GRP Commissioner Madhukar Pandey's initiative. He said he is going to ensure that all constables in pre-oral cancer stage attend counselling sessions and give up tobacco.
Pandey said it was a casual remark of a doctor during a regular check-up his constables' poor oral hygiene that made him think of a deeper investigation. “It is known that most of them chew tobacco.So we decided to have a pre-oral examination. But the information that 24 out of the 29 tested so far are prone to cancer was shocking,“ he said.

13-hour official apathy kills boy who fell off local train. Deva Pawar, travelling from Ambernath to Badlapur, died after falling from a local rain on Monday night. His family claimed that he lost his balance. His friend informed GRP (government railway po ice) personnel at Badlapur railway station but they left after searching the area for a few minutes. The next morning, the family found the victim unconscious in bushes near the tracks and took him to a private hospital, but he died.

Mar 10 2016 : The Times of India (Mumbai)

13-hour official apathy kills boy who fell off local train

Pradeep Gupta

Kalyan





In another case of official apathy towards railway accident victims, a 17-year-old boy from Badlapur died as he was left unconscious besides the tracks for 13 hours. When the victim's family took him to a government hospital the next morning, doctors refused to treat him till the police arrived.Deva Pawar, travelling from Ambernath to Badlapur, died after falling from a local rain on Monday night. His family claimed that he lost his balance. His friend informed GRP (government railway po ice) personnel at Badlapur railway station but they left after searching the area for a few minutes. The next morning, the family found the victim unconscious in bushes near the tracks and took him to a private hospital, but he died.
The family alleged that it took 13 hours for the victim to get treatment and if GRP per sonnel had searched for Deva through the night, and provided him medical care, he might have survived.
Deva's father Suresh is a daily wages worker. The police said on Monday afternoon that Deva, along with a friend, had gone to Ambernath's Shiva temple, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. The family said that after a darshan at around 8pm, Deva was returning with his friend, Rajan Shinde, when he fell from the train.
Rajan said that he alerted Deva's family and at Badlapur station informed deputy station master, N H Thakur, about the incident. Thakur informed GRP personnel, Anil Javde, who along with some people went to the spot without any searchlight and returned after some time. Deva's family found him the next day at 9am.
Sachin Shinde, a relative of the victim, said, “Deva's family took him to the state-run Central hospital in Ulhasnagar for treatment but doctors there refused to admit him, claiming that they would wait for the police to arrive. They also suggested that if they   needed urgent treatment, they should take Deva to the local Badlapur hospital, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.“
Sachin said, “By the time we took Deva to the Badlapur hospital, he died. We then took him to Central hospital, where doctors conducted a post-mortem and handed us the body .“
Deva's father Suresh said, “I am not educated and do not have much knowledge about the law but I know that my son was alive for 13 hours, and if GRP had searched for him and had given him treatment in time, he could have been alive.“
Local activist Satyjeet Burman has decided to help Deva's family legally to fight against the GRP for “justice“. Burman said, “The GRP is violating a high court order by not providing treatment to accident victims on time. I will raise this issue with senior railway officials, demanding action.“
Kalyan GRP senior inspector Anant Rane did not answer repeated phone calls.

CR report passes the buck for the death of 29-yr-old woman who fell off a train. A report filed by the Central Railways on the death of 29-year-old Darshana Pa war in February last year says that rail way officials did their best in getting her the necessary medical attention and that they had nothing to do with her incessant transfer from one hospital to another ­which emerged as the reason for her death.

Mar 08 2016 : Mirror (Mumbai)

CR report passes the buck for the death of 29-yr-old woman who fell off a train

Sunil Baghel TWEET @baghels





A report filed by the Central Railways on the death of 29-year-old Darshana Pa war in February last year says that rail way officials did their best in getting her the necessary medical attention and that they had nothing to do with her incessant transfer from one hospital to another ­which emerged as the reason for her death.However, the report does point out the absence of government ambulances at both Badlapur and Ambernath stations. Darshana, a receptionist at a Vashi-based private company, fell off a train between Badlapur and Ambernath stations around 8 pm on February 9, 2015, after a thief hit her on the head with a stick.
Her brother Sachin then moved the Bombay High Court, alleging that a fellow passenger, Madhu Birmole, tried everything she could for the next nine hours to get Darshana to a good hospital, but faced hurdles at every step. Darshana passed away at JJ Hospital. Sachin sought charges of culpable homicide against those allegedly responsible for her death--railway officials and doctors. The Bombay High Court, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation on the safety of passengers, sought a clarification from the railways on Pawar's allegations.
The report also says that the distance between Badlapur and Ambernath is about 9 km and that the frequency of the trains on that line is low. The report says that the Station Master in Badlapur, after being relieved from his duty at 8 pm, went to the accident spot­ which was about 5 kms from the Badlapur station ­by the very next available train.
After finding Darshana badly injured, he informed the on-duty Station Master at Badlapur to inform his counter-part at Ambernath. Darshan was taken by that very train to Vangani, reached the station at 8.3 pm and was immediately transferred to the nearest municipal hospital.
“There is no lapse on the part of either railway officials or the Government Railway Police in this incident. All the authorities acted promptly,“ says the report. But it adds, “The decision of the municipal hospital to refer the case to the central hospital and the subsequent hospitals is basically in the nature of a technical decision taken by qualified medical personnel.“
A report from the Senior Inspector of the Kalyan GRP ­ annexed to the Central Railways' report ­ says that the GRP registered a murder case against unknown person for the incident.

The report says that the Municipal Hospital referred Darshana to the Central Hospital after giving her primary treatment for further treatment around 9 pm due to lack of facilities. They then reached the Central Hospital around 9.30 pm, which then referred her to Sion or JJ Hospital around 10.30 pm. The team then left from there at around 11pm and reached Sion Hospital at 12.15am.
Sion Hospital, in turn, referred her to JJ Hospital because of non-availability of beds in the Intensive Care Unit. They did not admit her formally. This report points out that it was already around 12.45 am by the time they reached JJ Hospital ­ which was over 4hours after the incident. Darshana succumbed to her injuries at JJ Hospital around 4.45am.

Late-running services to blame for commuter deaths, finds WR panel.

Jan 10 2016 : Mirror (Mumbai)

Late-running services to blame for commuter deaths, finds WR panel

Kamal Mishra TWEETS @KMMIRROR





Report calls for comprehensive reforms, doesn't let passengers off the hook either

A Western Railway panel has concluded that a delay in services is a major cause of overcrowding in trains, which is leading to more people dying on the tracks.Mirror has obtained an exclusive copy of this report--the committee comprised members of parliament, railway activists, BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation director RS Khurana, and other senior railway officers, including the additional general manager and the Chief Public Relation Officer of Western Railway.
The report points out that Western Railway runs fewer trains run during the evening rush hour as compared to the morning rush hour, even though the evening peak sees more overcrowding. 134 services are run during the morning peak hours and only 124 during the evening. 9.3% of passengers use these services between 6 and 7 pm. A few committee members also blamed the Western Railway's timetables. This included MP Gopal Shetty, who said the train timings should be `rationalized.' The report recommended the completion of the missing link between Mahim and Santa Cruz on the 5th line, asking for it to be finished at the earliest. This would allow some mail and express trains to be diverted, freeing up space for local trains.
The report also recommended segregation of the suburban traffic from the main line, stating that the local trains should get their own corridor and at least four lines should be earmarked exclusively for them.Reduction of the inter signal distance between Borivali and Virar would also reduce headway and increase track capacity.
Both the Western and Central Railway had set up high-level committees to study the root cause of death on the tracks, on the orders of Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu.This after the video of techie Ganesh Nakate falling to death off a train went viral.
According to the report, two-hundred and forty five people died falling off trains in 2015 (till November). This is the second biggest contributor to deaths on the tracks and accounts for 20% of the total number of railway deaths. A large number of deaths occurred between Jogeshwari and Borivali and Vasai and Vaitarna. It was determined that a detailed safety audit for these areas be carried out.
The report also made several other recommendations for Western Railway. One was to make 50% of its trains 15-coaches. As of now, only two out of eighty-four rakes have 15 coaches. Another was for the government to adopt staggered timings for offices and the stock market to break up the flow of passengers. The committee also advised modification of the poles in the new Siemens rakes to facilitate a firmer grip after members of the public complained that they were unable to hold onto the smooth surfaces of the poles.End to end fencing of station premises and providing subways at every 500 metres to allow the quick discharge of passengers were also advocated. Automatic closing doors for non-AC EMUs were also suggested. The report counselled Western Railway to raise the height of track dividers to discourage young travellers from crossing the tracks.
The report also blamed the difference in platform height and the floor level of the trains. It didn't spare commuters either--saying they board and alight when the train is moving and avoid using the foot-overbridges and subways. It said that such intuitive passenger behaviours should be discouraged through the use of posters, sensitization campaigns and counselling of passengers by ticket checking staff and RPF and GRP personnel.
The Central Railway report may be submitted before 20th January, according to a senior CR officer. That report seems to be focusing on cab signalling on the harbour and trans-harbour line and the slow main line corridor.