----------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help other CONSUMERS to be better informed. ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Student run over by train at Comba ------------------------------------- In a tragic accident, a Std XII girl, student of Damodar Science Higher Secondary, Margao was run over by a speeding train at the Comba railway crossing on Tuesday morning.
The death of the young girl triggered outrage from the school management and local residents as it brought to fore the inadequate facilities at the Comba railway crossing for the 1500-student community to make it to the nearby educational institutions. The incident occurred early morning when deceased Roshni Rego along with four other students headed for school from their village Batti-Sanguem. When the vehicle carrying them approached the Comba subway to cross over to the school, the driver found the same inundated with rain water and decided to drop the students near the railway crossing. It is learnt that since the railway crossing was closed for vehicular traffic, these students decided to cross the tracks through a narrow opening, anxious to make it to the school on time. Roshni, who was the last amongst the students to cross the tracks, was hit by the speeding Vasco-Colem train. Within moments, the badly mutilated body of the deceased girl was found lying on the tracks, with her body severed into two parts. Chairman of the Damodar Higher Secondary School, Bhai Naik said the school had been demanding a footbridge for a long time for the students to cross the tracks, but in vain. He said the accident occurred because the subway was literally converted into a swimming pool by heavy overnight rains, adding that the incident could have been averted if the authorities had to build a footbridge at the level crossing “Everyday, around 1000-1500 students cross the tracks to make it to the educational institutions. We have been demanding a footbridge, but the Government built a subway. We don’t know the benefit of the subway to the students”, he said, adding the deceased student was dragged by the speeding train after her school bag got entangled with the hook of the train. Higher Secondary School Principal Ballikar said it is a tragedy that the incident took away the life of a good and studious student. “Roshni was a very good and well behaved student”, he added. Ballikar said authorities should immediately look into the needs of a footbridge, besides speed breakers in the interest of students safety. “Roshni might have thought that she would clear the tracks before the train could cross the level crossing. She was dragged by the railway hook”, he said, adding “one reason for the tragedy was the subway which was submerged under water, forcing the vehicle driver to drop the students near the level crossing”. A local resident Roque Rodrigues said the Government has built the subway without any proper study since the location is a low-lying area prone to flooding during monsoons. He said neither the Government nor the educational institutions are concerned about the safety of students studying in these schools and colleges. “Even the level crossing is not barricaded by authorities, prompting students to cross the tracks even when it is closed for traffic”, he said. Incidentally, it was only after the tragic accident that the authorities moved in to erect barricades at the approach point on both sides of the subway. ---------------------------- HERALD 21/7/10 page 1 ---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK ---------------------------------------------------------- promoting civic and consumer rights in Goa ---------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mail: *goa...@gmail.com* Visit: *http://goacan.blogspot.com * ---------------------------------------------------------- * * * Read Selma Carvalho's warmly-received book *Into the Diaspora Wilderness*, a journey through Goan life in Africa, the Gulf, England and North America ... gripping and well-told real-life stories. See http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ Buy in Goa via Broadway Book Centre, Panjim. Ph 9822488564. * * *
