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Amid the increasing number of train accidents across the country, Indian Railways has established a 'Rail Rakshak Dal' in the North Western Railway (NWR) zone for the first time as part of a pilot project, which was launched on Tuesday.
The 'Rail Rakshak Dal' is designed to promptly reach accident sites and conduct rescue operations. NWR General Manager Amitabh said that the able-bodied railway staff are being deployed in this initiative. "The Rail Rakshak Dal has been formed under the direction of the Minister. We are deploying able-bodied staff from the railway, and we are also training them in areas like swimming. The equipment used will be lightweight and easy to carry," he said. He further explained that the objective of the Rail Rakshak Dal is to provide assistance when needed by the Railways and to also support the district administration during emergencies. "This is an initiative from the Railway to let all the stakeholders use this free of cost in hours of need. Till now, we used to call NDRF but the Minister had begun this initiative as an experiment," he added. Meanwhile, Inspector-General (IG) Railway Protection Force (RPF) Jyoti Kumar Satija said that it is a proud moment that our railway minister has taken this initiative for quick response in rescue during any mishap. "It's a proud moment for us that our Railway minister has taken this initiative for quick response in rescue during any mishap. NWR has been given this responsibility in the pilot project. It's for the first time that RPF is being included in the rescue process," Satija said. This development follows several incidents where locomotive pilots have detected dangerous objects on railway tracks, intended to derail trains or endanger passengers' lives. On Monday, the Mahabodhi Express (12397) was targeted in a stone-pelting incident while approaching Mirzapur station. (ANI)
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