Rly has no uniform figures on deaths

An activist working for disabled-friendly railway stations and swift medical aid for rail accident victims was in for a surprise when he found that the Western Railway had...

An activist working for disabled-friendly railway stations and swift medical aid for rail accident victims was in for a surprise when he found that the Western Railway had,in an affidavit to the Bombay High Court,contradicted its own death figures given in reply to an RTI query. The RTI reply had given almost double the figures in the affidavit.

Samir Zaveri,who himself lost his legs in a rail accident 20 years ago,has filed a contempt petition in the high court regarding lack of swift medical aid and action by the railway authorities. Zaveri,who noticed the difference,will soon point out these discrepancies to the high court,when the matter will come up for hearing after three weeks.

Last year,when the court had sought figures regarding number of deaths in railway accidents,an affidavit was filed by the WR giving the number of deaths and injuries between 2003 and 2008.

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The WRs affidavit mentions 632 deaths in 2003 while the RTI reveals that there were 1,473 deaths in the year. The deaths have been classified into those who died while crossing tracks,falling off the train and other causes.

Similarly,the affidavit says 637 deaths were recorded in 2004 while the RTI reveals that it was 1,490 deaths in the year. The RTI reported 1,212 deaths till October in 2005,but the affidavit shows 680 deaths in the entire year.

Another discrepancy revealed pertains to a different affidavit filed by the railway last year that said all injured persons,whosoever,would be immediately shifted to the nearest private or government hospital. However,another RTI reply by the railway states that the injured are rendered First-Aid and immediately sent to a nearby government hospital for treatment.

Confused with the contradicting information,Zaveri has now filed a fresh RTI query before the Railway Ministry to know which version is correct: the affidavits or the RTI reply.

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