The fire in two AC coaches of the Howrah-Dehradun Express in Jharkhand's Giridih in which seven passengers, including a foreigner, have died has sparked a debate about the safety of the Indian railways. This is not one off incident. Railway accidents have been taking place on and off.
Though railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has promised an inquiry miscreants' involvement cannot be ruled out. However, Trivedi has a lot of explanation to do. Under his leadership the railways have gone the drain with many trains not ever running on time.
The fact is that the trains are in a mess. Compare this with the years when Lalu Prasad was Railway minister. At least it could be said that in his old days most of the trains were on time and cleanliness were maintained. Now, all these precaution has been thrown.
A few months ago while on my journey to Chennai through Rajdhani I was shocked to see the mess.
The train was in such bad conditions that twice I asked co-passengers and ticket collector whether I was travelling in Rajdhani. The Magadh Express to Patna was also cancelled at the last minute on November 22.
Travelling has become an arduous task. Unfortunately, the media too is sitting pretty and not highlighting the issue. Had such a situation prevailed during Lalu period the media would have cried foul.
Those whose family members and friends were travelling on the Howrah-Dehradun Express can call on the helpline numbers to find their well being:
033-26413660
033-26402243
032-62220518
BWN Enquiry: 03422-561601
DHN Enquiry: 0326-2220518
(With additional information from PTI)
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