New Delhi : If you are travelling by train in southern States you are more likely to get hit by stones. The Railways has just provided to Parliament state-wise data about – hold your breath — incidents of stone-throwing at trains.
The southern States are at the top with 59 such incidents of stone throwing in 2009 (up to October) out of a total of 113. Andhra Pradesh tops the southern list (28 incidents), followed by Karnataka (17), Tamil Nadu (16) and Kerala (5).
Orissa, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand are at the bottom with zero. Surprisingly, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not known for a highly satisfactory law and order situation, come in with 6 and 9 respectively.
But before taking these figures as behavioural indications of people in States, it must be kept in mind that the numbers depend on the propensity of passengers to report such cases, the length of railway network in a State, and the landscape through which the rail network crosses. For instance, in hilly sections, it would be difficult for people to throw stones. In September, some boys pelted stones at the Shatabdi Express between Delhi and Ludhiana when Mr Rahul Gandhi was on board.
Not just in India
Throwing stones at trains is not a purely Indian pastime. In the UK, young men occasionally amuse themselves by taking pot shots at passing trains. The last reported incident was at Nottingham. Ireland, Hungary, Turkey and Romania have also reported such incidents.
According to an Irishman, “It certainly happens from time to time on local trains around Dublin. Any time I’ve experienced it personally on a train they have been small stones and didn’t break windows, but I was once on a double-decker bus where a window was broken, luckily with nobody sitting near it.”
In New Zealand, people have been killed by stones thrown from viaducts. Trains have also been attacked.
The southern States are at the top with 59 such incidents of stone throwing in 2009 (up to October) out of a total of 113. Andhra Pradesh tops the southern list (28 incidents), followed by Karnataka (17), Tamil Nadu (16) and Kerala (5).
Orissa, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand are at the bottom with zero. Surprisingly, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, not known for a highly satisfactory law and order situation, come in with 6 and 9 respectively.
But before taking these figures as behavioural indications of people in States, it must be kept in mind that the numbers depend on the propensity of passengers to report such cases, the length of railway network in a State, and the landscape through which the rail network crosses. For instance, in hilly sections, it would be difficult for people to throw stones. In September, some boys pelted stones at the Shatabdi Express between Delhi and Ludhiana when Mr Rahul Gandhi was on board.
Not just in India
Throwing stones at trains is not a purely Indian pastime. In the UK, young men occasionally amuse themselves by taking pot shots at passing trains. The last reported incident was at Nottingham. Ireland, Hungary, Turkey and Romania have also reported such incidents.
According to an Irishman, “It certainly happens from time to time on local trains around Dublin. Any time I’ve experienced it personally on a train they have been small stones and didn’t break windows, but I was once on a double-decker bus where a window was broken, luckily with nobody sitting near it.”
In New Zealand, people have been killed by stones thrown from viaducts. Trains have also been attacked.
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