Title - New level crossings go unmanned

Focus is on postings to higher echelons of the railways

‘Bribe for postings’ has hampered the filling of lower rank posts as the attention is on postings to the higher echelons of the railways. It has compromised safety requirements of the railways.

Lives in jeopardy:Though behind target, the railways constructed 539 level crossings of late but the tragedy is that it did not have the qualified personnel to man these posts. The lives of both road and train users have been jeopardised.This lack of coordination among different departments is unpardonable given that accidents at level crossings have been on the rise and this year too the number of accidents has been higher than during the corresponding period a year ago.For the month of May, two accidents at manned and unmanned level crossings were reported last year but this year the number of incidents has shot up to more than seven. An incident in Tamil Nadu on May 20 claimed three lives taking the death toll to more than 18 in less than three weeks across the country.Notwithstanding the proclaimed seriousness in eliminating all unmanned level crossings, the fact remains that the effort has been limited to constructing gates or road over-bridges.While gates have been constructed, proper hands have not been recruited to man them.The railways have put unskilled people appointed on compassionate grounds at these gates. Whether this is in violation of norms or not, the fact remains that the authorities by placing those unfit for the job are not only compromising the safety of the unskilled personnel at the post but also road users and train passengers.There is a huge shortage of gatemen in the railways with recruitment not being made for several years now. Officials claim the recruitment of gatemen had not been made for want of sanction for these posts.The gap is expected to widen in the days to come given the slow progress at eliminating the 13,500 unmanned level crossings. The backlog in filling safety-related posts is only growing, now standing at 1.5 lakh vacancies which include gatemen.The number of accidents at manned and unmanned level crossings has shot up this year.There are 1.5 lakh vacancies for safety-related posts including gatemen.