Consider setting up emergency centres at suburban rly stns: HC

After a full-fledged medical emergency centre was set up at the Dadar railway station, the Bombay High Court today directed the Railways to consider setting up similar centres at other suburban stations which have witnessed over 100 deaths in the past one year.
The direction was passed by a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice A V Mohta in a public interest litigation filed in 2008 by Samir Zaveri, who lost his legs in a railway accident, seeking medical facilities to accident victims in "golden hour" (within one hour of the accident).
"If the emergency medical centre set up at Dadar station is helping, why don't you (railways) replicate it at other major stations also? It is not necessary at every station but at least at those stations which have witnessed more than 100 deaths in the past one year," Chief Justice Shah said.

Advocate Suresh Kumar, appearing for Western Railways, told the court that in cases where there is a government hospital within 500 meter radius of the railway station an accident victim is taken there. "But in the absence of government hospital, the railways has tied up with certain private hospitals where victims can be taken," he said.
Zaveri's lawyer Jamshed Cama, however, told the court that victims are in majority of the cases taken to hospital an hour after the accident. "The victim is just lying on the stretcher as the police complete their formality. By then the victim loses blood," he said.

Agreeing to this, the court said, "Prima facie a clear case is made out for establishment of similar medical centres at other suburban railway stations. The central and western railways shall consider setting up of such centres at stations like CST, Kurla, Thane, Kalyan, Bandra and so on."
The court has directed the railways (central and western) to file a report by April 16.