CCTVs in Maharashtra's Monkey Hill avert railway accident

The cameras installed in the Monkey Hill area in the Bhor Ghat section of the railways between Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra have started paying dividends, with these helping to avert a major accident by recording a landslide on the tracks.

Railway Ministry spokesperson Smita Vats Sharma told IANS on Friday: "A major accident was averted after cameras and communication systems installed in the Mumbai-Pune Bhor Ghat mountain section of Central Railway alerted the authorities of a landslide on the rail tracks on Thursday night at Monkey Hill near Lonavala."

She said the recording of the landslide by the cameras helped the railway personnel switch off the overhead electric cable supply and stop rail traffic on time.

According to her, the railways take extra precautions in this section during the monsoons owing to the risk of landslides.

Following incidents of landslides, the railways decided to install closed-circuit television cameras in vulnerable areas, she said.

The railways started installing CCTV cameras in the Monkey Hill area in recent times, Central Railways spokesperson Sunil Udashi said.

The Central Railways have installed over 48 cameras in the 12 km-long stretch.

The Bhor Ghat section is a mountain passage for the Central Railway with a total of 28 tunnels located between Palasdari and Khandala in Maharashtra.

The Railway Ministry spokesperson said that the Sahyadri Express was halted following the landslides in this section. The train was pulled back to Lonavala station following the landslide, the official said, adding that railway personnel cleared the debris from the tracks within hours and normal traffic has been restored.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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