The death of 59 people during a Ravan effigy burning event in Punjab last week may have shone the spotlight on the perils of coming in the way of trains, but it's a way of life for hundreds near Kolkata's Park Circus station.
Two elderly women spread flex sheets next to train tracks, placed ginger, garlic and chillies on them. Next to them, a vendor began arranging colourful T-shirts and dresses. Customers sat, with a rail between them and the sellers, to strike a bargain for the spices.
The death of 59 people during a Ravan effigy burning event in Punjab last week may have shone the spotlight on the perils of coming in the way of trains, but it's a way of life for hundreds near Kolkata's Park Circus station.
Popular as "station market", vendors here spill onto the tracks as they vie to grab space to arrange their wares. In her early 20s, utensil seller Saniya SK responded to the train tragedy: "We keep a safe distance and sell our goods. There is no need to be afraid."
Zubeida Khatoon, 60, said she has been selling groceries there for over a decade and that fate will decide the course for her. "We do feel afraid, especially after some major accident elsewhere. If the Almighty has decided death for me I will die anyway."
Nearly 50,000 people have lost their lives between 2015 and 2017 on railway tracks after being hit by trains, according to data from the Indian Railways.
Of these, 5,670 deaths were reported from the Eastern Railway zone that has Kolkata as its headquarters.
The figures carry little meaning for Md Parvez for whom life is survival versus risks. "There is no place for fear in our lives. If we don't sell here we will starve to death." The footwear seller said his customers sit on tracks as they choose shoes and chappals.
At Lohapool, an unmanned railway crossing, hundreds of people walk on the tracks, completely oblivious to approaching trains. "This has been the way of life for us for years. We don't need to be afraid," said Abdul Hamid as he carried his cycle across the tracks.
Crossing the tracks while talking on her mobile, Hamida Khatoon admitted she was aware of the "real disconnection" that the call could lead to. "I know it takes my attention off what's going on around me and I should not be doing it," she told DNA, but carried on talking over the phone.
Rail officials and politicians blamed each other for the state of affairs. "We carry out eviction drives but there is a lack of cooperation from the police and local administration because of which they keep coming back," said Eastern Railway spokesperson RN Mahapatra.
Subrata Mukherjee, the senior-most minister in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet, said the railways was trying to deflect the issue and point towards the state. He said, "Railways have their own rules and enough police force. Why can't they get the tracks cleared of encroachers? They have failed to do so and have found an easy way of blaming the state government."
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