Blame Didi for rail mess
Yet another rail disaster has drawn the response that is now an Indian tradition: expressions of grief by ministers, and some money announced as compensation for lives and limbs lost. Then it’s business as usual, as though the paltry sums of taxpayer funds politicians dole out actually paid for deaths and disabilities. The tragedy that persists after the event leaves the headlines is in the lives of people who must live its consequences and in the failure of successive railway ministers to do anything to prevent future accidents.
That India’s rail infrastructure is creaking and outdated is well known. A report by a high-level committee led by former Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar noted in February this year that the Indian Railways presents a grim picture of inadequate performance, largely due to poor infrastructure and resources. It had recommended creation of a Railway Safety Authority and investments of `20,000 crores for maintenance and development of rail safety infrastructure. Another report, by a committee headed by technocrat Sam Pitroda, also in February, called for major investments in rail safety including anti-collision devices.
Both reports are now gathering dust as former minister Dinesh Trivedi, who tried to manage the railways’ failing finances with a tiny hike in passenger fares, lost his job — even though he apparently had the Prime Minister’s support. His party boss Mamata Banerjee, incensed at a threat to her brand of populist politics, forced him out. She must now answer for the latest accident, and any others that occur on the watch of incumbent railway minister Mukul Roy.
Post new comment