IT Correspondent
Mumbai, May 9:
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued notices to the Maharashtra chief secretary and Aurangabad district magistrate after a cargo train ran over migrant labourers and killed 16 of them.
The human rights panel took a suo motu cognisance of media reports about the incident. The migrants had fallen asleep on the track while they were walking back to their home from Jalna in Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh. The accident took place at 5.15 am near Karmad, around 30 km from Aurangabad.
The commission directed the officers to submit a detailed report about the incident within four weeks. “It should also include details of the steps taken by the state and the district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially the migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle,” the NHRC said in a statement. “The details of the relief and rehabilitation provided to the victim labourers and their dependents along with status of the medical treatment provided to the injured is also required to be given in the report.”
While the incident was an accident, the NHRC observed that it could have been averted if “some arrangements been made for their shelter or halt during their tiring journey”.
The accident occurred even as the loco pilot of the cargo train honked the horn as soon as he noticed the group of people on the rail tracks and also made all possible efforts to stop the train, the railway ministry said. The South Central Railway has ordered a high-level inquiry headed by the commissioner of railway safety to investigate the matter.
”Apparently, the affected persons had gathered along the track under the impression that the train services were suspended due to COVID-19 lock down.,” Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety Shailesh Pathak said his letter to Railway Board Chairperson V K Yadav.
Furthermore, false sense of security may have come to their minds about there being no trains on run, whereas freight, parcel specials have already been running and now migrant specials “Shramik Express have also started plying.”
The safety commissioner has directed that henceforth a “caution order” will have to be given to ensure special precautions. “Under such circumstances, as an abundant precaution, it is essential that all railway personnel connected with train operation, maintenance and patrolling activities should be cautioned to immediately communicate any such occurrence of persons walking along the track, if noticed by them, to the nearest station so that necessary caution alert can be passed on” he added.
