HC asks ‘insensitive’ Rly authorities to wake up. Death Trap Gap Ghatkoper

Sunil.Baghel @timesgroup.com TWEETS @baghels 

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    Just a day after converting reportsfromthisnewspaperintoa suo–motu public interest litigation, the Bombay High Court gave an earful to the Railway authorities on Saturday. 
The division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah termed the Railway authorities insensitive and said they needed to wake up at least now. 
The court was referring to the newspaper report published on January18about21-year-oldKharresident Zia-Ul-Aminuddin Shaikh, who died due to a cardiac arrest, hours after losinghisleftleginanaccidentatAndheristation.Theaccidentwasblamedon the gap between the platform and the compartment he was trying to board. Addressing Suresh Kumar, advocate for the Railways, the bench said, “Saturday’s newspapers report a third accident (that took place) in a similar manner. Your clients must wake up now at least. It appears that your officials don’t care for the life and limbs of people.” 
    The court further added that lives were being lost almost on a daily basis and the Railway authorities seemed to have become insensitive. 
    Since the January 11 Monica More incident,thishasbeenthirdsuchincident where a person met with an accident due to the uneven gap between the platform and the train’s footboard. While 16-year-old Monica lost both her arms, in the second incident in this series, 31-year-old electrician Tanvir Sheikh lost both his legs when he slipped through the gap between the platform and a coach at Kurla station on Wednesday evening. 
    The Railways’ advocate was present before the court as an activist had moved an application beforethebenchseekingtotaghisPILfiled on the issue ‘Railway passengers’ safety’ with the suo–motu PIL taken up by the Chief Justice on Friday. The HC rejected the application. 
    It also made clear that the main focus of the suo–motu PIL would be the gap between the platform and the train and autonomy of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. 
    Reproducing four Mirror reports – Mind the gap, Mumbai (January 14); Timeforsuburbannetworktosecedefrom rail ministry (January 15); Ambernath platforms pose daily risk for commuters (January 15); and City’s death-trap stations (January 17) – the court converted the matter to a PIL and posted its next hearing for February 13. 
    Chief Justice’s division bench has made the Union Railway Ministry, theRailwayBoard,Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, and General Managers of Central, Western and Konkan railways respondents to the PIL. 
    Mumbai Mirror launched a sustained campaign against the railways’ failure to raise the height of suburban platforms and the absence of emergency medical care at stations. Noting thatthesuburbanrailwayservicescarry over 70 lakh passengers every day, the HC notice quotes from a report in this newspaper on how a Central Railway’s request to raise the height of platforms over and above the nationally prescribed parameters has been pending with the Railway Board for four years.

(From left) The spot at the Ghatkopar station where a girl fell and lost both her arms last week; Mumbai Mirror reports on the issue

CITY’S DEATH-TRAP STATIONS Mirror visits Kasara, Khardi and Atgaon and finds that none of the platforms meet the prescribed norms

Yogesh Sadhwani and Virat A Singh mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 

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    Days after the Monica More accident at Ghatkopar, Central Railway officials continue to pass the buck, blaming railway ministry policies for not being able to reduce the gap between platforms and rakes. While citing restrictions on raising the height of platforms, the officials have also blamed commuters for being reckless and trying to board running trains. 
    Mirror, however, visited Kasara, Khardi and Atgaon stations, and nailed CR’s lie. At all three stations, located on the Kalyan-Kasara route, the gap between rakes and platforms measures 18 to 20 inches, and at some spots even goes up to 21 inches. 
    While the prescribed gap should be between 13.46 inches and 17.2 inches, officials say they try to ensure it does not exceed the acceptable 14 inches. However,atallthreestations,thenorm is violated, making them the most dangerous stations on the suburban route. 
    What’s more, the gap is not just in terms of height between the platform and rakes, but also the distance forward of the footboard from the platform. Thus, while negotiating the height,passengershave to also make sure they take a huge step forward to reach the footboard, thereby magnifying their risk of falling in the gap. 
    The incidents of commuters falling into the gap at these stations have been numerous. In 2013 alone, eight cases of people falling into the gaps and either losing their lives or getting badly injured were reported at Kasara. Several such incidents occurred at Khardi and Atgaon too, but went unreported as no one was seriously injured. 
Kasara, which caters to over 10,000 commuters each day, has four platforms. The gap between the rakes and platforms here is between 18 to 20 inches, and at some stretches, goes up to 21 inches. 
At Atgaon which has two platforms and caters to around 3,000 commuters daily ,the gap is 18 inches. And so is the case at Khardi, which caters to over 3,000 commuters on an average day. With people falling into gaps at these three stations not all that rare an occurrence, the regular commuters here have turned vigilant to such incidents. “With the Railways not bothered to do anything about the gaps,dailycommutershavelearnttobe very alert,” said Vijay Manohar, a 25-year-old vendor who helped pull out at least a dozen people last year. 
    “As soon as someone falls into the gap, one of us rushes to alert the guard or motorman not to start the train until the person is brought up. Fortunately, in most cases last year, people escaped with bruises because this is a starting point for trains,” he added. 
    Khardi resident Vishal Jadhav, a member of the local passenger association, said that barely a week passes without someone falling into the gap. “Over here, it’s not just the gap between rake and platform in terms of height, but also the distance between the platform and the rake that poses a threat,”Jadhavsaid.“Thankstothecallous approach of the Railways, our commuters have all become boarding specialists,” he added with sarcasm. 
    So what has the Railways done about these death trap? Nothing, if you ask Rajesh Ghanghav, advisor of the Kalyan Kasara Railway Passengers Welfare Association and vice-president of the Mumbai Suburban Railway Passenger Association. 
    Ghanghav told Mirror that in the past two years the associations have taken up the issue of gaps at Khardi, Atgaon and Kasara with senior Railway officials a dozen times. “We have given them multiple representations. Even station masters have given submissions to their superiors, asking them to do something since so many accidents take place here,” said Ghanghav. 
    “This is nothing short of criminal negligence on the part of CR. People are getting injured, maimed and even losing their lives because of CR’s insensitive approach. If only they pay heed to our pleas and raise the height of platforms, it will be a huge relief for us and scores of accidents both minor and major can be averted,” Ghanghav added. 
    Of the 11 stations the lie between Kalyan and Kasara, eight have been fixed in the past five years. But Khardi, Atgaon and Kasara have been left untouched. The platforms of all three stations have not been raised, and the gaps have remained as they are for years. 
    But CR officials are busy defending themselves by claiming that the platforms of these three stations meet the norms and their height is as per rules laid down by the Railway ministry. 
    Atul Rane, CPRO of CR, claimed that height of the platforms is as per rules laid down by Railway ministry. “At Atgaon the height is between 810 mm and 950 mm, at Kasara it is 770 mm to 920 mm, and at Khardi it is around 850 mm. We thus meet the standard of keeping the platforms between 760 mm and 840 mm,” said Rane. 
    CR is unable to explain that if the height of the platforms is as per norms, how is it that the platforms do not meet the norms pertaining to the gap between rakes and platforms. The numbers just do not add up.

Members of a commuters’ association measure the gap between coaches and platform at Atgaon (L), Kasara (top R) and Khardi

Make all platforms safer in 2 weeks, CR told

Manthan K Mehta & Manoj Badgeri TNN 

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Mumbai: Not just Ghatkopar and Thane, Central Railway’s Mumbai division has been directed to ensure that there are no abrupt discontinuation (like gaps) or any infringement (like signal poles) on platforms that can endanger the lives of commuters. 
    The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) of Central Circle has asked the authorities to comply and submit a report within two weeks. 
    Central Railway has finally begun work to fill up the pit at Ghatkopar’s platformNo2throughwhichstudent Monika More, 16, fell and lost both arms. “We have decided to shift the signal horizontally by 1.5 meters and the junction box from the pit can be shifted to the middle of the tracks,” said CR’sdivisional manager Mukesh Nigam. 
    Safety commissioner Chetan Bakshi told TOI: “There is no violation of the Schedule of Dimension (of platforms) in the case of Ghatkopar as the train was stopping well short of the signal. However, such discontinuation of platform is not desirable.” 
    At Thane, another pit lying unattended for close to two years was finally covered. Workers from the railways’ civil works department filled the ditch with debris and levelled it off with cement blocks. By Thursday afternoon, the signal box was also shifted, leaving behind a smooth platform surface. 
    The10ftx3ftditchwascreated after signal pole S68 was shifted following a mandate that equipment on platforms must be 4.7m away from the centre of the track. 
    Epitomizing railways red tape, the department relocating thesignalshiftedthe pole but didn’t move the allied equipment from the platform. It also didn’t inform the civil works department and thus the gap was left unattended for almost two years.

Pits on platforms are filled up at Ghatkopar and Thane stations

Now, 31-yr-old loses legs at Kurla station

Sumitra Deb Roy & Manthan K Mehta TNN 

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Mumbai: A 31-year-old electrician lost both legs when he slipped through the gap between the platform and a coach at Kurla station on Wednesday evening while trying to board a moving train. 
    Barely four days ago, 16-year-old Monika More lost both her arms when she fell into an unguarded signal pit while trying to board a train at Ghatkopar. 
    Tanavir Sheikh was rushed to Sion Hospital within 30 minutes of the accident, but his limbs could not be saved because of the nature of his injuries. Eyewitnesses told TOI that around 10.30pm on Wednesday, Sheikh came in from the Ghatkopar-end of platform 6 and tried to board a CST-bound fast local train that was pulling out. “He tried to get a hold on to the door handle of the coach but lost his balance and fell through the gap between the platform and the rake,” said a commuter Shankar Iyer. Kurla platform gap widest where man fell on tracksLegs Couldn’t Be Reattached, Family Worried About Future 
    Tanavir Sheikh, who fell while trying to board a local at Kurla on Wednesday, was bleeding profusely as one leg had been cut off below the knee and the other was dangling only by the skin when he was brought to hospital by 11pm. 
    “His legs were completely amputated near the knee and 
there was no stump left to carry out a reattachment surgery. Reattachment is always tricky in accidents where patients suffer serious crush injuries. Once the bones have healed, we will think of prosthetic limbs,” said Dr Ashok Rathod, professor, orthopaedic department, Sion Hospital. 
    “He lost balance while trying to board the train. We will know the exact cause of accident only after checking the CCTV footage,” said P D Babar, inspector, Kurla GRP. 
    At Kurla station, the height of platform 6 varies from 760mm to 920mm with the gap the widest towards the Ghatkopar-end. “Platform designing is a complicated process as we have to take into account track geometry and topography of the land. Kurla is like a bowl where water from surrounding areas get accumulated, impacting the track geometry,” explained a railway official. 
    “It is a risky platform and last year, too, one of our personnel had died because of the huge gap,” said a GRP official. 
    “Fortunately, the train stopped soon and passengers pulled up Sheikh from the tracks. The hamals and GRP officials took him to hospital,” added Nitin Shukla, who also witnessed the accident. 
    Sheikh’s brother-in-law Kasam Saiyyed had reached the hospital soon after he was brought in. Sheikh was conscious and kept worrying how his family would survive as he was the only one who earned before the doctors sedated him and started treatment, he said. 
    Sheikh’s wife Asma, 22, said he had said he would be home for dinner. “Our lives are doomed now as he is the sole bread-earner of the family. We have no finances to take care of his treatment,” she said. 
    Shaikh, a resident of Govandi, earned about Rs 3,000-5,000 a month from odd assignments. The couple has three children, aged six, five and one and a half years. They were preparing to send their second son to school in the next couple of months. 
    The family has begun battling problems already — their first one was unavailability of blood. “All night we scouted for B negative blood and finally managed to get it only in the morning from a Dahisar blood bank,” said Saiyyed. They have not heard of the state’s recently launched blood-on-call service. 
    “We do not know the circumstances under which he met with an accident. We are ascertaining the fact before a conclusion can be drawn,” said Central Railway divisional manager Mukesh Nigam. UNEVEN STATION PUTS PASSENGERS AT RISK 
TANAVIR SHEIKH, 31 Lives in Govandi Is an electrician Earns Rs 3,000-5,000 a month Has a family of four: wife Asma (22), and three children WORK DAY | Sheikh was headed home from work. He was in Kurla to make electrical arrangements for a social gathering 
    He is usually home by 9pm 
    On Wednesday, he worked longer 
Sheikh tries to board train as it starts pulling out of platform He loses balance and slips into gap between footboard and platform His legs are crushed under the train He is brought to Sion Hospital by 11pm by railway officials, who also inform his family members In hospital, his parameters are stabilized On Thursday, his crushed legs are surgically removed knee down PROSTHETIC LEGS PROSTHESES WIDELY USED IN INDIA 
    Tanavir Sheikh may be able to lead a near normal life with below-knee prosthetic legs 
    Below-knee artificial legs are easy to handle because of control with natural knees 
    The stump goes into a socket and is held in place with suction 
    The socket, foot and shin of a prosthetic leg is designed in a way to efficiently bear the wearer’s body weight Jaipur foot | Made of wood and sponge rubber moulded at high temperature. Rubber on the outer surface gives the leg a natural look. The leg can bend in all directions that a natural leg can and offers high flexibility to users, who can walk on uneven surfaces and even squat COST | Available for free 
Solid ankle cushion heel (SACH) foot 
Speciality is soft rubber heel that compresses under weight just like a natural heel does COST | Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh OLD RAKES Number | 23 Footboard height | 1.22 m 
from top surface of rail 
NEW RAKES Number | 51 Footboard height | 1.18-1.2 m from top surface of rail 
What explains height difference 
Air springs in newer rakes are less compressed than that of old rakes 
PLATFORMS Height raised to 0.84 m | 500 platforms on CR Height of 0.76 m to less than 0.84 m | 50 platforms on CR PLANS TO INCREASE PLATFORM HEIGHT CR plans to increase height of 50 remaining platforms ‘soon’ Platforms at Chembur and Kurla stations, and platform No 5 at Dadar will be taken up on priority CST EXPERIMENT Height of platforms at CST | 0.92 m This is considered to be comfortable for commuters Western Railway has sought permission from railway board to raise the height of its suburban network platforms to 0.92 metres Ideal footboard-platform gap | 3.4-4.35 cm TIMES VIEW: Work on raising platform height needs to be finished on an emergency basis. Funds should not be a roadblock in a matter like this; if need be, money meant for other work should be diverted here. Every accident is a human tragedy and accidents, where one contributing factor may be the gap between the footboard and the platform, are avoidable human tragedies. Commuters also need to understand that nothing — even reaching their destination a few minutes late — is more important than life or limb. The railways cannot shake off the responsibility of ensuring a safe journey but this is one responsibility that should also be shared by commuters.

Lost your arms? Here’s a band-aid

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    If a headache struck you on a local train or the spicy breakfast you had caused acidity, where would you go? We suggest the station master’s room at any station. 
    The medical aid boxes at stations on Mumbai’s suburban network are equipped to handle only minor aches and injuries, but they have nothing to help in case of an accident like last Saturday’s mishap at Ghatkopar station, where a 16-year-old lost her arms after falling off a train. 
    At close to 15 stations Mumbai Mirror team visited on Wednesday, these emergency medical aid boxes -- full of pills, lotions, injections, and bandages -- had not been used even once. It is obvious that these boxes are there only to fulfill compliance with a 2004 Bombay High Court ruling, which put the onus of providing medical aid to a person injured in a train accident on the concerned station master. 
    Though the medical aid boxes are crammed with 66 items, very few of them are of any use in the kind of accidents that take place on railway tracks. Dr Rita Savla, director of Radhee Disaster and Education Foundation, calls these medical aid kits a sham. 
    Dr Savla, who at one point was involved in training hamaals in administering emergency medical aid, said nearly half the items in the boxes can be done away with. “They have injections and IVs in the box. Who will administer in injections and IVs? And what is required in not there -- ice boxes to carry severed limbs, cervical collars to make sure the victims don’t suffer aggravated injuries when being transported to hospital, and gauzes of good quality to stem the flow of blood.” 
    Savla said the railways run fullfledged hospitals for its employees and they should align these with its trauma care programme at stations. “Their doctors should work closely with the station staff to improve facilities,” Savla said an untrained person helping an accident victim can cause more harm. Citing the example of ‘torniquet’, one of the items in the medical box, Savla said ‘torniquet’ is no longer used in trauma care worldwide. “It is a misconception that a torniquet is to be tied above a severed or injured limb tightly to prevent blood loss. In fact, it needs to be loosened every 30 seconds for fifteen seconds or else it can only aggravate the injury.” Dr Savla has organized a group of volunteers who want to train porters, station masters and cops, who regularly deal with accident victims, so as to minimise deaths. She has already held a workshop with Government Railway Police and hopes to conduct many more in future. —MMB

MUMBAI’S ‘JUGAD’ EMERGENCY CARE Porters to pick up the injured, medical aid kit with aspirins and band-aids, ambulances with no drivers

Yogesh Sadhwani, Virat Singh and Lata Mishra 

mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com 

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    Of the 108 stations on Mumbai’s suburban network, that carries nearly 75 lakh commuters every day, only Dadar could have managed to save Monica More’s arms. 
    A test-drive of stations across Western, Central, and Harbour lines carried out by this newspaper on Wednesday revealed that not one of them, with the exception of Dadar, is equipped to handle victims of serious accidents. 
    Monica, who fell off a crowded train in Ghatkopar last Saturday, lost her arms for two main reasons: one, there was an inordinate delay in taking her to KEM Hospital, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to reattach her arms; two, in absence of any emergency medical care, she was carried to the nearest hospital in an auto by two young men, who wrapped her severed arm in a piece cloth borrowed from a fellow commuter. 
    The scary reality is that Monica would have got the same care at any other station, small or big. Only Dadar has a trauma care centre and doctor on duty round-the-clock. But even Dadardoesnotstockonice,criticalintransporting severed limbs to a hospital. 
    The test-drive revealed that whatever emergency care facilities have been created at stations are not aimed at helping accident victims. They are aimed at complying with a 2004 Bombay High Court ruling, which put the onusofprovidingmedicalaidtoaperson injured in a train accident on the concerned station master. In Mumbaiya, it’s called ‘jugad’. 
    Other than first-aid kits with 66 items, many of them of no use in the sort of injuries that train accidents throw up, all stations across the city now have stretchers and wheelchairs. But the problemisthatnoneofthem have trained staff. Every time an accident is reported, the station master must beg, plead and bribe hamaals (casual labourers) to rush to the spot, pick up the victim. 
    The world over, extreme care is advised in handling accident victims as untrained hands can aggravate injuries. But on Mumbai’s stations, it’s the baggage handlers that are sent to take care of the injured. 
    And it doesn’t end here. Only six stations of the 108 have dedicated ambulances. All other stations must call for an ambulance. On Wednesday at Parel station, it took an ambulance half an hour to reach the spot after S K Patil, 50, a railway employee on his way home, fell off the train (see picture on page 1). 
    Thankfully, he had not suffered any serious injuries. 
Not that the situation is any better at those handful of stations where there are ambulances. A railway officer, who did not wish to be identified, said while the ambulances are parked at the station, their drivers are never around. “It can take anything between 20 minutes to an hour to trace the driver and get him to the ambulance,” he said. 
Theproblemisthatmostoftheseambulances are donations from social groups. Thus, their drivers are not accountable to the railways. “TheygettheirsalariesfromtheNGOsthatown the vehicles, they don’t need to report to us,” the railway officer said. 
At Airoli, which caters to over 50,000 season ticket travellers and another 25,000 ticket buyers each day, every timethereisanaccident,the station master calls porters from Thane or Vashi to attend to the victim. That itself takes half an hour. 
Doctors say that the first 45 minutes after an accident are critical in saving an accident victim’slife.“Theinjured must be attended to by paramedics and stabilized in the first45minutes,”saidaKEMdoctor. 
But forget paramedics, the station masters are not given enough money to even pay the porters. Each station master has a budget of Rs 1150 to attend to an accident victim -- Rs 400 to pay porters to pick the injured, and rest for the ambulance.“Tryaskingfourporterstopickupa bleeding man off the track for around Rs 100 each. At many suburban stations there are no porters, so we end up asking drug addicts languishing around to help,” said another station master. For a rail network that earns Rs 1225 crore annually, it’s clearly the passengers that are important, not their lives.

SK Patil, 50, fell into the gap between the platform and the tracks at Parel on Wednesday. After commuters pulled him out, it took 30 minutes to take him to a hospital

THANE STATION Though almost all stations have stretchers, wheelchairs and first-aid kits with 66 items, they are of no use when it comes to major medical emergencies

Consumer court can hold railways guilty of negligence Teen Who Lost Arms Entitled To Damages

Rebecca Samervel TNN 

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    Consumer law experts say Monika More has a more than even chance of making the railways eat its words (calling her accident a case of trespassing) if she approaches the consumer court. The 16-year-old college student lost her arms under a train after falling into a gap on platform No 2at Ghatkopar station on Saturday. 
    As a service provider, the railways are in a consumer relationship with commuters and so Monika’s case has valid ingredients for admission in a consumer forum, said consumer activist M S Kamath. “All she needs is a valid daily or season ticket. This will prove that she is aconsumer. If a gap on the platform was the reason she fell on tracks, the railways can be held guilty for deficiency in service,” he said. 
    Kamath said that in recent cases of theft and dacoity, consumer commissions have held the railways guilty of negligence and not providing adequate security on trains. 
    In a landmark case, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in 1995 upheld a state commission order and directed the railways to pay Rs 2.25 lakh to the parents of a 21-year-old, Kabita Hansaria, who died in 1990 while passing through interconnecting compartments on a long-distance train. The Hansarias told the commission that the vestibule connecting the compartments did not have safety grills. The railways had contended that according to the provisions of the Railway Claims Tribunal, the complaint was not tenable before the commission. But the commission made a clear distinction between a train accident and accidental death, and observing that Kabita's death was the latter case. “The state commission is right in pointing out that a railway passenger is a consumer,” the national commission had said. 
    Consumer lawyer Uday Wavikar said cases like Monika’s fell under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act. ‘‘There are instances when the national commission awarded compensation to people injured after falling off railway bridges. In a recent order, an airliner was ordered to pay compensation to a passenger who died in an escalator mishap.” 
    In 2011, the national commission ruled in favour of a woman whose husband was run over by a goods train in 2003 while he was crossing tracks at a spot where there was no railway bridge. The commission rejected the railways’ defence that such cases fell under the provisions of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act and that consumer fora did not have jurisdiction. 
COMPENSATION 
POSSIBILITIES RAILWAY CLAIMS TRIBUNAL Compensation for accident victims 4 LAKH | Death, loss of both hands or legs, deafness, disfiguring of face 
32,000 TO 3.6 LAKH | Other injuries 
Interim Relief | Pending settlement of claim, the railways are required to meet victim’s emergent expenses and afford her immediate relief. The amount is adjusted against final settlement CONSUMER COURT A complaint can be filed in any of six ‘district consumer disputes redressal’ forums in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region | South Mumbai, Central Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Mumbai Additional (suburban), Thane, Thane Additional (Navi Mumbai) 
Forum admits complaint within 21 days and issues notice to the service provider (in Monika More’s case, the railways), who must reply in 30 days. Grace period of 15 days can be given. If there is no reply, forum can hear matter ex parte and pass order If order is unsatisfactory, file appeal at state and then national commission LEVELS AS PER COMPENSATION 
Above 1 crore Complaint heard by national commission 
20 lakh to 1 crore 
Complaint heard by 
state commission 
Below 20 lakh Complaint heard 
by district forum HIGH COURT To expedite hearing at Railway Claims Tribunal, the high court can be approached PROSTHETIC ARMS Bebionic 3 | Most advanced myoelectric arm. Controlled by electrical impulses from amputee’s stump muscles. Can perform complex tasks like tying shoe laces and holding heavy objects Cost of arm | 50L Cost of fitting and follow-ups 
| 30-50L

CCTV footage of Monika More (circled) on the platform, seconds before her accident at Ghatkopar station on Saturday