‘CR panel on crowds lacks expertise’

Railway activists miffed over the panel formed by the Central Railway (CR) to decrease the number of accidental deaths in local trains said that the members chosen lack experience and expertise.

Railway activist Subhash Gupta said that the committee, formed on December 1, does not have transport experts and activists who had better experience in dealing with railway red-tape and ground realities of the local train.

“There are so many others who have been there on the site when a derailment occurs on the CR and meet with the officials and suggest something that will help running of the system everyday, None of them have been included, people who have dedicated their time and effort to the railways not on paper but on the actual railway line and station. They are nowhere to be found in this committee,” Mr Gupta said.

Samir Zaveri, who lost both his legs to an accident while traveling on a local more than two decades ago, said the panel’s report, which is expected to come out within a month, will have little effect due to the panel’s composition. “The selection of the panel shows the gap between railway officials and the ground reality,” he sid.