New Delhi: Concerned over a spurt in
accidents at unmanned railway crossings, Northern Railway has
decided to launch an SMS campaign to create awareness among
the public about the safety measures to be followed while
crossing them.
The railways intends to sent regular SMSes to mobile
subscribers on the issue, said a source in Northern Railways,
adding, the project will commence soon.
The SMS will be sent exactly at 7 am everyday over a
period of three months so that the "messages registers in
their mind", the source said.
About six crore SMSes will be sent to the subscribers
in states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab where a sharp
rise in accidents at unmanned railway crossing has been
reported in recent past.
Statistics reveal that more than 22 people have been
killed at unmanned railway crossings since April this year,
most of them in Punjab.
Northern Railways has 1,879 unmanned railway
crossings. During this financial year, it proposes to man 68
crossings, of which 35 crossings have already been manned.
Across the country, there are about 18,000 unmanned
crossings.
PTI
