Mumbai: Phase two of novel drive on unsafe commuting launched

Mumbai: The Western Railway in association with a private firm has launched the second phase of its 'Be Zinda' campaign to dissuade train commuters from risking their life while travelling in suburban trains.

The firm IdeaHive Media Pvt Ltd will capture inspiring tales of people living in Mumbai, stories which define the 'Spirit of Mumbai' and stories of those who have triumphed against all odds, a senior WR official said.

Such stories will be shared through advertisements, radio programmes to tell commuters that life is priceless, he said. According to him, social media will be an important part of the campaign.

"The authorities are hoping that commuters will not endanger their life by crossing the rail tracks just to save a minute or two," he said.

The firm claimed that the first phase of the campaign, launched in February, was successful.

Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer of WR said, "We are overwhelmed by the response we received in the first phase of this campaign which had the objective- Valuing Our Life. We have started second phase since last few days and we are sure that we will be able to take the campaign to the next level," he added.

As per an RTI query filed by an activist Anees Khan in 2016, as many as 25,722 passengers had fallen off the running local trains in Mumbai (on Western, Central and Harbour suburban services in Mumbai Commissionerate) in the last ten years, of whom 6,989 commuters died.