MARGAO: In the span of the last four years, from 2020 to 2023, a total of 171 individuals lost their lives on the Konkan Railway tracks in Goa, covering the stretch from Canacona to Pernem. The circumstances in which these deaths occured were varied, with some attributed to accidents while crossing the railway tracks, and others to suicide.
According to sources from Konkan Railway police, out of the 171 deaths, 118 were classified as accidents, 28 were suicides, and 25 were natural deaths.
In the year 2023 alone, 43 individuals were found dead along this stretch, with 24 cases labeled as accidental deaths, 13 as suicides, and six due to natural causes. Comparatively, the year 2022 reported 58 deaths, 2021 had 46 deaths, and 2020 recorded 24 deaths along the same tracks.
Despite various preventive measures and infrastructure initiatives, the number of casualties on the Konkan Railway tracks has not seen a significant decline. Margao-based advocate Priesh Madkaiker said that that unauthorised trespassing on railway premises, including railway tracks, is a punishable offence under Section 147 of the Railways Act, 1989. The deaths are primarily attributed to unauthorised trespassing, with many victims found to be under the influence of alcohol. Most of the deceased were males aged between 25 to 60 years.
The Konkan Railway Police registers these deaths under Section 174 of the CrPC, and the bodies are usually identified and handed over to the relatives for the final rites.
Despite continuous efforts to create awareness and improve infrastructure, the numbers have not shown a consistent decrease, say frustrated officers of the Konkan Railway.
A Railway Officers Committee has been formed to analyse the causes of these fatalities and propose specific measures to minimise such incidents. Initiatives include urging people through public address systems to use Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) and desisting from climbing atop the trains and getting electrocuted or boarding/getting off running trains, conducting awareness programs, and deploying Railway Protection Force personnel and erection of boundary walls or fencing at vulnerable locations.