Hazardous areas near rail lines

Many may recall the tragic incident that occurred a few years ago at a point on Dhaka-Narayanganj railway route. In the terrible mishap a young passenger was killed. The ill-fated youth brushed against a makeshift shop front. It was erected illegally, precariously close to the track. Struggling to remain clung to the door of a jam-packed compartment, the young man got veritably crushed to death due to the violent impact. The episode amply brought to focus the thriving commercial activities being carried out on the two sides of the railway tracks in greater Dhaka. They have not stopped. A similar picture prevails in the city's Khilgaon-Malibag and Tejgaon, with a busy rail line passing through the areas from Kamalapur. Open-air business activities of all types are carried out there. Temporary shops have also sprouted. Trains come and go; speed slowed down and whistles piercing the air. People just look up and move away from the track for a while. Then everything is business as usual.

From Karwan Bazar onwards to the north, the two sides of the railway track have for decades been home to shanty dwellers. Just a casual walk along the line gives one the idea of the sheer recklessness with which people live there. The slum people consider the track as part of their courtyard, using it as a place for drying clothes and wet fuel woods. Many are found cooking their meal sitting just beside the line. Sometimes they leave their tiny tots there to play between the tracks. It is a horrifying spectacle for people not used to the terrible indifference man can show towards both life and death. Maybe, desperation breeds this type of nonchalance. It is by a stroke of luck that a devastating accident has not yet occurred in these areas. But accidents happen without warning signs. People in the highly vulnerable areas seem to be completely oblivious to the looming disasters.

It is incumbent on the authorities concerned to make these people aware of the danger, and also take measures like fencing out the two sides of the railway line in the heart of the city. Eviction drives have proved pathetically futile.

Abrar Siddiqui

Eskaton, Dhaka