Title - Consider setting up emergency centres at suburban Railway stations: HC

MUMBAI: After a full-fledged
medical emergency centre was
set up at the Dadar railway
station, the Bombay High Court
today directed the Railways to
consider setting up similar
centres at other suburban
stations which have witnessed
over 100 deaths in the past one
year.
The direction was passed by a
division bench of Chief Justice
Mohit Shah and Justice A V Mohta
in a public interest litigation filed
in 2008 by Samir Zaveri, who lost
his legs in a railway accident,
seeking medical facilities to
accident victims in "golden
hour" (within one hour of the
accident).
"If the emergency medical centre
set up at Dadar station is helping,
why don't you (railways)
replicate it at other major
stations also? It is not necessary
at every station but at least at
those stations which have
witnessed more than 100 deaths
in the past one year," Chief
Justice Shah said.
Advocate Suresh Kumar,
appearing for Western Railways,
told the court that in cases
where there is a government
hospital within 500 meter radius
of the railway station an accident
victim is taken there. "But in the
absence of government hospital,
the railways has tied up with
certain private hospitals where
victims can be taken," he said.
Zaveri's lawyer Jamshed Cama,
however, told the court that
victims are in majority of the
cases taken to hospital an hour
after the accident. "The victim is
just lying on the stretcher as the
police complete their formality.
By then the victim loses blood,"
he said.
Agreeing to this, the court said,
"Prima facie a clear case is made
out for establishment of similar
medical centres at other
suburban railway stations. The
central and western railways
shall consider setting up of such
centres at stations like CST, Kurla,
Thane, Kalyan, Bandra and so
on."
The court has directed the
railways (central and western) to
file a report by April 16.