Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar shared a horrific experience during his school days while crossing the rail tracks.
On Wednesday, Tendulkar was present at the launch of two initiatives by Mumbai Railway Police- SAMEEP (Safety Alert Messages Exclusively For Passengers) and B-Safe. He spoke out about the railway safety there.
Tendulkar recalled his childhood memory, “Right from the age of 11, I travelled by trains in Mumbai. When I travelled, I had a kit-bag. I have also experienced jostling; being pushed in and out of trains…these experiences will stay with me.”
Tendulkar spoke out about the horrific incident. He said, “In school, I had gone to Vile Parle to a friend’s place. We — five or six boys — had practiced in the morning and had gone to his place for lunch. Then we decided to watch a movie. After watching the movie, we got late for practice and hence we decided to cross railway tracks and go to the platform, and board the train at Dadar. While crossing the tracks, halfway, we realised that trains were coming fast on all the tracks. We ended up crouching on our knees in between the tracks with our kits. That was a scary experience and then onwards we never crossed train tracks.”
Tendulkar advised to the people, “I feel in today’s world every minute matters, there is competition everywhere. I feel, a lot of time (the thinking is) if we cross railway tracks, then we will reach quicker, there will be the benefit of five minutes instead of crossing the bridge while going to the other platform. These are small things — one, you are breaking the law, and you are risking life for five minutes.”
The 42-years former Indian cricketer said that nothing would be changed if anyone reached at five minutes late. He said, “Your family and friends are waiting for you back home and if you reach there five minutes later it really does not matter. It is important to be there, safe and sound, rather than be in the hospital. I will request: do not sit on the train roof and travel if the train is crowded. Everyone is hard pressed for time, but still (I ask you), leave that train, be patient and do not break rules.”