Madras, Sept. 16: The Southern Railway authorities are concerned over the growing menace of alarm chain pulling which has upset the punctuality of trains in the broad gauge sections of the Madras Division.

There has been a significant rise in the number of such incidents in recent months. From 501 in July, the figure rose to 579 in August. It is unlikely to go up still further in September, the tally for the first ten days being 233.

A study of the figures shows the Gudur-Madras section accounted for the largest number  — 153 out of 233 reported till September 10  —  and the incidents occurred mostly between Tiruvottiyur and Ennore stations.

Railway sources attribute the spurt in the number of chain pullings to increased smuggling of rice from Andhra centres in the context of rice scarcity and high prices in Madras. The smugglers, it is said, pulled the alarm chain to unload the stocks midway between stations. The re-imposition of Prohibition in Tamil Nadu from September 1 has given rise to smuggling of liquor also from Andhra Pradesh in recent weeks, according to a Railway spokesman.

Yet another matter agitating the Railways is the cases of assault on train crew reported from this section. The driver of a Madras-Gummidipundi local sustained head injuries yesterday, as a result of stone-throwing by a group of persons standing beside the track between Tiruvottiyur and Ennore.