Who is responsible for this?

India has seen lot of train accidents in last 60 years, but last few months have been bizarre. Train accidents have become common and there won’t be a big deal if people get used to it (which they should not) and start ignoring this. Current scenario in railway ministry is not very encouraging and a trend seems to be being set for this. July 20th, came worst news of train accident in Sainthia, West Bangal. This time, at least 63 dead and 150 injured. Uttar Banga express banged in Vananchal Express at 90 kmph. The magnitude was so strong that it threw an entire compartment in air which landed on a over bridge. Few other bogie's were also badly hit and gas cutters were used to cut steel body for rescue operations.




Railway minister were quick to reach the site and she announced compensation for the victims. She also said that there can be sabotage but later, union ministry ruled out that. Initial reports suggest that driver over shot the signal and ignored the station master warning. Brakes were fine but driver failed to put them. Nobody is sure why driver and co driver didn’t applied brakes. Now one committee will be constituted which will look into the case and we will forget about it till next accident. This is seventh case in last 12-14 months and nothing seems to have changed in these months. Someone spoke about some anti collision device and said that the talks have been for last 11 years and it’s not yet implemented. In India, if we think that it is going to happen now, then we still need to learn about our country.



It’s not about railway ministry or railway administration; it’s about entire system where voices are only raised, once something has happened. If we are not going to be proactive, we are going to pay price for that, whether we like it or not. Politicians are not going to change, media and opposition may criticize current Rail Minister, but as a matter of fact, they all are same. It more about their individual luck rather than their efforts, which determines the kind of tenure they have as a minister. India is going through a phase of coalition politics and biggest dharma in today’s politics is coalition dharma.



Current coalition has its political ambition and they are far more important than these lost lives. Nest year, there are election in West Bangal and they have to go for it, like never before. How can they give time to these kinds of usual accidents which happens, every now and then? So, its important to focus towards a goal which is more substantial and has potential of delivering more than providing good administration to the department. Accidents can happen even with the best technology and other resources, so why to waste efforts and time in doing that.



This problem is not going to end with this article or this accident or even with current government. It’s going to come back and it depend on us whether we decide to forget or remember it. And if we decide to remember then we must remember it, till we get desired results, or else it doesn’t matter. We should focus on issues rather that individual political organization or individuals. Though, we must remember their performance, so that they can be taught appropriate lessons at right time.