Lack of foot-bridge kills 2 at Whitefield

Bangalore, Jan 2: Speeding trains mowed down two young people - a medico and a software engineer - trying to cross the rail track in the absence of a footbridge at the Whitefield railway station, setting off a public protest and disruption of train services on Wednesday.

The accidents occurred within hours of each other on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. On Tuesday night, 20-year-old Vini Sanki Bamoon from Meghalaya was trying to cross the railway tracks with her three friends. While the others had crossed, Bamoon was hit by a speeding train (Chennai-Bangalore Express) and killed on the spot.

Bamoonwas pursuing medicine MVJ Medical College, Hosakote. She was a paying guest in Whitefield.

Another death

Hours after this accident, Bipin Kumar Goutham, 26, a software engineer with a leading IT firm near Whitefield, was fatally knocked down by Lalbagh Express, early on Wednesday. He was staying with colleagues Vishnu and Shvanag. The trio were returning home after night shift. As Vishnu and Shvanag crossed the railway lines, Bipin, hailing from Delhi, was mowed down by the train.

The deaths sparked off protests with around 4,000 people, including rail passengers, residents of the area and civil society groups, blocking trains at the Whitefield railway station for more than five hours from 7 am to 12 noon.

Residents of the area claimed that at least two such accidents occur every month while people cross the tracks to reach a bus stop as the nearby flyover is always choked with traffic and a road detour meant walking three kilometres.

S Muniswamy, president of the Karnataka Jnanandolana Sanghatane, which spearheaded the protests, said that in the recent months, the station witnessed more than 15 such accidents. The protesters said there was no overbridge at the station, which was the main reason behind the accidents. “Our immediate demand is for a railway over-bridge to be built so that commuters won’t have to cross the tracks,” he said.

When the agitation intensified, Sandeep Mehra, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM), South Western Railways, visited the spot and interacted with the protesters.

“We have analysed the situation and facilities at the station and surrounding approach. The number of people crossing the track along this stretch has increased.

We have had talks with the agitators and promised to start work on the overbridge immediately. Safety of train passengers as well as those crossing the railway track is the major concern and we are committed to it,” he said.