People's Democracy

Perils for Railway Passengers

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on July 11, 2011.

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deep shock and grief at the horrific accident involving the Howrah-Kalka Mail in Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh. 65 bodies have been recovered and the death toll is rising; more than 200 have been injured. This accident comes just three days after the Mathura-Chaapra Express hit a bus at an unmanned railway crossing at Adhurpur, which left 38 bus passengers dead.

Suspected sabotage on the same day as the Kalka Mail accident has led to the derailment of the Guwahati-Puri Express injuring many. All these highlight the perils faced by passengers on the railways. 

In the last two years, the railways have been on a disastrous path under the stewardship of  former railway minister, Mamata Banerjee. It has suffered acute neglect and was used for the political ends of the minister in West Bengal. As a result, more than one lakh safety related jobs in the railways are lying vacant. 

In the UPA government, no one is held accountable for this dereliction of duty. The prime minister should explain how this shocking state of affairs was allowed to go on. There can be no compulsions of coalition politics when the lives of the people are at stake.

It is not enough to have an enquiry conducted by the railways into the Kalka accident. The Polit Bureau demands the constitution of a high level enquiry into the spate of railway accidents and immediate steps to strengthen the safety measures in the railways.