Viral Video Spotlights Palghar Village's Dangerous Commute
A video has gone viral on social media showing a schoolboy from Palghar district appealing directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for a safe road to school. In the video, shared by Lokshahi Marathi, the student identifies himself as Sohil Sunil Chaudhari and highlights the dangers of the route that students and residents of the village must take each day.
Sohil is shown asking why, when the Prime Minister says children are the future of India, there isn't a simple road for children to get an education. He also describes the daily fear of walking along a railway track and bridge that could be used by an express train at any moment. He recounts that he carries both his school bag and the fear of death every day.
"Honourable Prime Minister of India, Modi Saheb, you say all over the TV that children are the future of India. Then why isn't there a simple road for children of our age to get an education?" Sohil asks in the video. "We have to walk along that life-threatening railway track and bridge every day. If an express train comes from behind, we tremble with fear."
In a second appeal, Sohil turns to the Chief Minister, referencing the construction of major roads and the bullet train project and questioning why a track of death remains in the destiny of children in his village.
"Fadnavis Saheb, you have brought big roads and bullet trains to the entire country, haven't you? Then why is there only a track of death in our destiny? Give us the road that is our right," he says.
The video has brought renewed attention to the long-standing demand for a bridge over the Vaitarna Creek, and local residents are also asking for a safe and accessible route across it.
Wadhiv Village: A Community Cut Off
Sohil Chaudhary is in the news as well as in the report from Mumbai Tak that found students, parents, and residents of Wadhiv village in Palghar district raising concerns about the lack of a safe road connecting the village to the outside world.
The villagers, numbering more than 4,000, are forced to use railway tracks as a route out of the village, according to the report. Schoolchildren make that dangerous journey every day.
A student said: 'We have to cross the railway tracks every day to go to school. We are very scared when a train comes. Our lives are at risk.'
Parents are constantly anxious about their children's safety. A mother broke down and said: 'There is always a fear in my mind whether my child will return safely after going to school.'
Medical emergencies compounds the crisis. Residents said that when 28-year-old Vishal Patil suffered a heart attack a few months ago, they had to carry him in a makeshift sling across the railway tracks because no road connects the village; it took about half an hour to get him out. Ambulances also face difficulty in reaching the village.
Villagers claim that 22 people have died after being hit by trains while crossing the tracks and 20 have died from a lack of timely medical treatment, figures that the report notes could not be independently verified.
The village's lack of a safe road stands in contrast to major infrastructure projects being developed nearby, according to residents. They question why a village of 4,000 people lacks a safe road, while projects like the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train are built.
Elected representatives face criticism for not acting.
"Villagers said elected representatives come only during elections to ask for votes and make promises.
Shiv Sena MLA Vilas Tare, who represents the Boisar Assembly constituency, said he has written to authorities three times regarding the issue.
Residents have threatened to boycott the upcoming elections if their demand for a safe road is not addressed. They are asking for a permanent road and a safe bridge or an alternative route across the Vaitarna creek so that ambulances and emergency vehicles can reach the village directly.