Whispers of death in choked tracks
NEW DELHI: A narrow colony of cement and corrugated tin has sprung up near the rail tracks that slice through south Delhi, just behind the bustling lanes of Jangpura Extension and Lajpat Nagar. It is unofficially referred to as the Madrasi Colony. Though it doesn’t exist on any city map, it thrives in full view of passing trains, indifferent commuters and a government that no longer sees it.
Shops line both sides of the tracks — makeshift grocery stalls, repair kiosks and even tailors’ corners. When this newspaper visited the site, our presence drew suspicion. A group of men surrounded the team, demanding to know why we had come. When told the houses here stood on railway land without legal sanction, they asked us to leave.
A Delhi Police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said parts of the settlement are believed to be involved in the sale of cannabis and illicit liquor. “Raids are conducted from time to time, and materials are seized,” said another official.
According to sources, cannabis is sold by weight in the area, priced per gram. “It starts at Rs 500 for 10 grams and goes higher, depending on the quality. The drugs reach the colony via trains. As the trains slow down near this point, it becomes easier for them to offload the consignments, which are smuggled in after evading police across several states, including those in the national capital,” revealed a source, asking not to be named.
Yet, to reduce the entire community to crime is to ignore its daily struggle for survival. At dawn, one Pawan (44) was seen returning barefoot to his hut, clutching an empty plastic bottle. His six-year-old son followed closely. Moments ago, they had tiptoed across the tracks, searching for a hidden spot to defecate. There are no toilets here. Only iron rails and the illusion of privacy. Pawan is among the thousands living in unauthorised jhuggis that hug Delhi’s 140 km of railway lines. Residents — many of them migrants from Bihar and Tamil Nadu — had come here in search of livelihood. But they now find themselves pushed to the margins of the city.
Such jhuggis have also mushroomed beside railway tracks in areas like Shakur Basti and Wazirpur, among others. The tracks have turned into unofficial dumping sites, with a joint report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Indian Railways stating that over 31,000 MT of garbage have accumulated along these corridors.
But for those who live here, garbage is not the only problem. Open defecation is rampant, despite tall claims by civic agencies about Delhi’s “open defecation-free” status.
“It seems that beyond Peeragarhi, the city has been abandoned by the civic agencies,” said Ravinder Tiwari, a resident of Friends Enclave in Sultanpuri, adding, “The people here live in inhuman conditions.”
Shakur Basti is one of the most well-known slums built on railway land. Demolition drives have been carried out here, but the people always return, rebuilding what was torn down. The reason is simple — the location is vital for their livelihoods.
Despite the life-threatening risks and unhygienic conditions, there is little political will or coordination to address the issue. The Indian Railways disowns responsibility for rehabilitation, calling housing a “state subject”. It offers no resettlement plan for the people it evicts. State governments, in turn, struggle to acquire land for affordable housing, especially when the cost is pegged at 99% of the market value, as per the Railway Board guidelines.
In two years, 1,259 people died on Delhi’s railway tracks, most of them while crossing on foot. “These are not accidents but predictable deaths,” said a senior police officer. He explained that people have to cross the tracks daily to access their homes, schools and toilets. “We can’t stop them, and there’s no infrastructure to protect them,” he shared.
The real tragedy lies in the normalisation of this crisis. Children grow up believing that playing near train tracks is a way of life. Women time their daily activities based on the schedule of local trains. Men risk death every day just to use a corner of open land to relieve themselves.
The tracks may carry the lifeblood of the Capital’s economy, but the people living beside them have been written out of the story.
Blood on our tracks
In just two years, 1,259 people died on Delhi’s railway tracks, most of them while crossing on foot. In 2023 alone, the Delhi police recovered 634 bodies from the tracks. The Subzi Mandi railway station recorded the highest number of such fatalities, with 137 in 2023 and a staggering 145 in 2024.
Turned into dumping sites
Jhuggis have mushroomed beside railway tracks in areas like Shakur Basti and Wazirpur. According to official sources, the tracks have turned into unofficial dumping sites, with a joint report by the MCD and Indian Railways stating that over 31,000 metric tonnes of garbage have accumulated along these corridors.