Chhath Puja across rail tracks as locals in Punjab 'forget' Dussehra mishap

New Delhi: At least 61 people had died during Dussehra celebrations after being mowed down by a train near Amritsar last month. Memories of the horrific tragedy may have already begun fading with participants in Chhath Puja near Bhatinda making the same grievous mistake recently.

Earlier this week, locals gathered for Chhath Puja near Bhatinda and opted to cross a busy railway track without a care for trains that use the route at relatively high speeds. The local administration and cops kept urging people to use designated level crossings but their warnings fell on deaf ears. Even women, some with small children in their arms, too kept ignoring the authorities as they made their way to a local ghat.

Such incidents show that while the administration is almost always slammed after a tragedy, the onus of safety lies also on people at large. In the case of the Amritsar train tragedy, Railways had defenced the train driver and itself by saying that rail tracks are meant for trains and not people. It had said at the time that the driver of the train which ran over people had managed to slow down but it was not possible to halt completely.

While rail-related accidents have come down in recent years, the tragedy near Amritsar served as a grim reminder that more needs to be done. And the incident near Bhatinda serves as an even grimmer reminder that people themselves should be more aware and be made accountable for their safety.