Two children have lost their lives on the Nangloi railway crossing, yet the BJP-led Delhi government continues to ignore repeated demands for a simple Road Over Bridge that could have saved them. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Anil Jha, along with party’s chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar squarely held the BJP accountable for this criminal negligence, demanding ₹1 crore compensation for each grieving family and immediate accountability of officials.
Addressing a joint press conference along with AAP Chief Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, MLA Anil Jha stated, “For the last eight months, Delhi has had a BJP government, and at the Centre for 11 years. On the issue of development, BJP used to level constant allegations against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. We had hoped that after the BJP came to power in Delhi, developmental work would accelerate. But in the past seven months, people of Delhi have not seen any significant progress.”
He asserted, “Today, residents of every assembly constituency in Delhi are struggling with a wide range of problems. During the rains, there was waterlogging. In my constituency Kirari, due to the non-construction of a Road Over Bridge (ROB) at the Varasi-Nangloi railway crossing, people from three to four surrounding constituencies are suffering.”
Pointing to the tragedy, Anil Jha said, “Even 75 years after independence, people of Kirari constituency, located just 22–23 kilometres from the Prime Minister’s Office in the national capital, are demanding the construction of this ROB, but it is not being built. Its cost will hardly be ₹10–12 crore. Due to its absence, train accidents keep occurring.”
He revealed that just three days ago, two children tragically died after being run over on the railway track. In the past four years alone, 38 people have lost their lives here in the same way. For the last 15 years, people have been protesting before the Central Government for this ROB. I myself have written several times to the Prime Minister. From the Prime Minister’s Office, only assurances of action come every time. Besides this, I have also written multiple times to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the Government of India, and the Chief Secretary of Delhi Government.
Highlighting the scale of demand, Anil Jha added, “Kirari and surrounding constituencies have a population of about 25 lakh. These lakhs of people are demanding a ROB at the Varasi-Nangloi crossing and a Foot Over Bridge (FOB) on Baba Vidyapati Marg. Earlier BJP used to allege that because it was Arvind Kejriwal’s government, the railway was not granting land.”
“But now Delhi has a BJP government itself. On 24th August 2024, a memorandum was signed between Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Public Works Department (PWD) regarding ROB and FOB. DDA was made the monitoring agency, and the Railway was also included. Today the situation is that even the Government of India’s order is not being implemented by the Delhi Government,” he asserted.
Recalling his efforts, Anil Jha said, “On this issue, I have already met Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the PWD Minister, the Railway Minister, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), and the Head of Railway Infrastructure. BJP makes tall claims that it has built tunnels in Jammu & Kashmir or started Vande Bharat trains.”
He contrasted, “But they made Vande Bharat while our children are forced to die on railway tracks. Kirari constituency is just 23 kilometres from the PMO, 22 kilometres from the CM’s residence, and 21 kilometres from the Chief Secretary’s residence, yet people here are being forced to die on railway tracks. BJP always raises frivolous issues like who eats meat during Navratri. Instead, it should focus on crucial issues of Kirari’s people and give them ROB and FOB.”
Meanwhile, AAP’s Chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar pointed out, “MLA Anil Jha has written 33 times to the BJP-ruled Central Government demanding a ROB at the Varasi-Nangloi railway crossing, but no one has paid heed. For the people of Delhi, BJP’s government is nothing less than a curse.”
She continued, “Due to the failures of the BJP government, this monsoon alone about 40 people have died in Delhi. The death of two children run over at Nangloi railway crossing is not just an incident, it is the BJP government’s failure. That is why there has been no response from CM Rekha Gupta, the Railway Minister, or the Lieutenant Governor. None of them even visited the site. Yet after this accident, more than 700 people gathered there demanding the ROB.”
Priyanka Kakkar further said, “This is a highly populated area. The spot of the accident has been marked as a High Risk Zone by the Railway Protection Force. India is about to complete 80 years of independence, yet in this densely populated area of Nangloi, even basic wire fencing has not been done, nor the long-demanded ROB and FOB constructed.”
She shared that in Delhi alone, until June this year, 350 people have died on railway tracks. Across the country, in the past three years, about 30,000 people have died after being run over while crossing tracks. Even today, lakhs of people in India are forced to cross tracks daily to reach home or office because the government has failed to build FOBs or even wire fencing despite repeated demands. This is nothing but the failure of BJP government.
Citing data, Priyanka Kakkar said, “Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had stated in Parliament that Railways is committed to spending ₹1.14 lakh crore annually on safety. But people are not getting safety. So where is this money going? The government has no data on wire fencing expenditure.”
She asked, “Is this money being spent only on making reels of the Railway Minister, on personal publicity, or going into BJP’s pockets? The government must be held accountable for the Nangloi tragedy. Otherwise, countless more lives will keep getting added to the tally of deaths caused by the BJP government’s failures.”
The AAP Chief spokesperson asserted, “The Aam Aadmi Party demands that BJP’s Delhi and Central Governments meet the victim families, provide them with compensation of ₹1 crore each, register cases of attempt to murder against the responsible officers, and fix accountability.”
