Railways hits the road against stone throwing

A few weeks ago, a passenger on a moving train near the city’s Banaswadi station was shocked when a stone thrown from outside hit his ear.

The impact was such that a part of the ear was torn off and the train had to be stopped immediately to give him first aid. Nobody, however, had a clue about who threw the stone, and the passenger, too, was not interested in filing any complaint.

Faced with several such stone-throwing incidents across the City, the Railway Protection Force of Bangalore Division, South Western Railway, on Saturday kicked off an awareness programme for people in areas where such incidents are being reported. Areas near the railway track at Lingarajapuram and at a level crossing at Kanakanagar of Banaswadi were the first two spots for the campaign.

Banaswadi Station Master Ravi Shankar said pelting trains with stones has become so common in his jurisdictional area, that at least two incidents are recorded every week. “We know that boys between the ages of 13 and 16 years from the nearby slum have cultivated this habit. We did complain to the railway police as well as the local police. Stone-pelting cases reduce only when police are around. But when nobody is there, the habit regains momentum,” he said.

Two weeks ago, a 12-year-old boy travelling on a train had a narrow escape near Lingarajpuram. Stones placed along tracks to reinforce the lines are being used by the miscreants to target the moving trains. 

The new double-decker train, on a trial run between Bangalore and Chennai, has also been a target.

Glass planes of the coach windows, especially at the lower deck, have been damaged in stone pelting at three places at least.

Moving trains have faced the problem in the city’s Goripalya area, too. There have been instances when passengers have stopped the train and entered into verbal altercations with local people there. On the awareness campaign launched on Saturday, Sandeep Mehra, additional divisional railway manager of Bangalore Division, said, “as part of the programme, pamphlets and banners have been distributed to spread the message that throwing stones at moving trains endanger the life of passengers.”

But awareness is only the first step, according to Louis Amudan, senior divisional security Commissioner, SWR. “Pelting stones at a train is a punishable offence and not many know that action can be initiated if such people are caught,” he said.