Meet Krishna Poojary who prevented a possible train accident despite his physical disability

Despite being diagnosed with a nerve issue in his right leg, Krishna Poojary ran six km to inform the railway officials about a crack that averted a possible train accident.

What could have been another railway tragedy was averted thanks to a 53-year-old daily wage labourer in Udupi of Karnataka. Krishna Poojary spotted a crack in the track that had widened and posed a possible threat to approaching trains.

Despite an ailment that left him with a limp in his right leg, he ran for six km in just 30 minutes and reached the railway officials. Poojary escorted them to the site of crack within 40 minutes. Wasting no time, they nearby stations of the danger and simultaneously fixed the crack.

A railway official said,

In a short while, we informed other trains to pass. But we had advised them to slow their speed since temporary emergency devices were put in place to avert the sudden danger, reported The News Minute.

Poojary was diagnosed with a nerve issue in his right leg. Further, his poor economic conditions stopped him from availing proper treatment and medication. Later, the doctor advised him to walk regularly for his recovery, reported The Logical Indian.

Since then he has been walking barefoot, as he said,

I am under injections and medications. However, as a therapeutic relief, the doctor had advised walking on the gravel stones, as it would relax my leg muscle. Since I stay close to the track at Korangrapady, I have made it a point to walk on it daily. Otherwise, besides the train, there is no other person in that area at any point in time.

It was during his morning stroll around 6:30 am on Saturday that Poojary noticed a crack at Brahmasthana in Korangrapady of Karnataka. He said, “Since I could not seek anyone's help, I quickly started pacing towards the Indrali railway station.”

To make ends meet, Poojary works as a coolie and during the offseason, he cooks at a local eatery ‘Cool Point at Korangrapady’. He claims that he informed the officials of the crack because of a 40-year-old railway accident that had taken place in Nelamangala, Karnataka.

Recounting the horror, he says, “During those days when education was a luxury, this boy who worked with us as a waiter at a shack had successfully finished his graduation and was returning home. He was deboarding a running train at Nelamangala station when his bag got stuck in one of the hinges at the boogie door and he was pulled back to the fast-moving vehicle. The scene of the body being dragged and crushed is still fresh in my mind, as we watched helplessly.”

Further, the Konkan Railway of Goa will facilitate Krishna Poojary for his commendable work, as Sudha Krishnamurthy, PRO, Konkan Railway said to The Hindu,

"We appreciate the fact that he took the trouble to inform us about the crack. Hence, we decided to felicitate him for his noble work."

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