CHENNAI: A 51-year-old man and his two daughters died at Veppampattu near Tiruvallur on Sunday morning allegedly after a train hit them while they were trying to cross a railway track.
The police said the girls, along with their father, were on their way to Chennai to visit their mother who is being treated at a government hospital.
On October 30, TNIE reported how people are forced to risk their lives to cross the track due to the absence of a foot-overbridge or pedestrian subway at the station. The construction of a railway overbridge (ROB) at the Veppampattu station has also been pending for 13 years.
After Sunday’s tragedy, over 150 residents of Veppampattu and Perumalpattu staged a protest demanding completion of the ROB.
According to the Tiruvallur Railway Police, the deceased were identified as Manoharan of Perumalpattu and his daughters M Dharani (18) and M Dharshini (17). While Dharani was a college student, Dharshini was in Class 12.
Police said the girls’ mother had been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for treatment a few months ago.
“Around 11:30 am, Manoharan and his daughters took an auto to reach the Veppampattu Railway Station. From the road, they were crossing the tracks there to reach the platform. As they were walking near the tracks, a train heading to Arakkonam from Chennai hit them. The trio were thrown to the ground and died on the spot,” a police officer said.
Passersby informed the Tiruvallur Railway Police, who recovered the bodies. The remains were sent to a government hospital for postmortem examination.
A case was registered and an inquiry is on. Protesting residents said lives are at risk without the ROB.
This July, a history-sheeter named Jebbaraj was also run over by a train at the Veppampattu Railway Station.
Veppampattu is one of the busiest railway stations in the suburbs with commercial establishments on either side.
Subway work halted over dispute with contractor
“Around 20,000 people travel every day from Veppampattu, which lacks basic amenities. People are left with no option but to cross the railway track to reach either side of the station. We have petitioned and protested about this several times to no avail,” said Jayaraman, a resident of Veppampattu.
Work to construct a subway was halted midway due to a dispute with the contractor. According to railway sources, the pending works are expected to begin at the earliest.
“Funding for the foot-overbridge has been approved and work is expected to begin by January 2024. The contractor, who undertook the subway work, has been ordered to complete the work and we are hopeful of it being completed by March 2024,” the source further added.
TNIE has also repeatedly highlighted the risky manner in which members of the public cross the railway tracks at Vyasarpadi and Korattur railway stations. Activists have called for measures to end the practice at all stations.