ProUI

Khagaria (Bihar):
Thirtyseven pilgrims, including women and children standing on rail tracks, were killed when a speeding express train ploughed into them today in Bihar's Khagaria district, triggering angry protests by locals who attacked train drivers, set ablaze a coach and vandalised the station.‘Kanwarias’ or devotees of Lord Shiva were walking along the tracks at Dhamara Ghat station after alighting from the Samastipur-Saharsa passenger when the Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express travelling at 80 kmph, ran over them, a senior railway official said. Khagaria is about 160 km from Patna.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that 37 persons, including women and children, were killed. Among them were 13 women, four children and 20 men. The victims hailed from Khagaria, Sahrsa, Munger and Naughachia. Twentyfour others, who sustained injuries, were admitted to the hospital here.

Soon after the incident at 8.40 am, a violent mob assaulted the train driver, set on fire an AC compartment and engine of another train, vandalised the station and even held a few rail staff hostage.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Chief Minister appealed for calm.

Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said the express was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and was given clearance to pass through, but the pilgrims on the tracks thought they could stop the train.

Though the driver applied the emergency brakes, it was too late by then, he said, adding an internal inquiry has been ordered into the accident. The pilgrims were going to nearby Katyani Sthan temple to offer ‘jalabhishek’ to Lord Shiva on the fourth and final Monday of the holy month of Shrawan.

Superintendent of Police S K Jha said the engine of the Samastipur-Saharsa passenger train and an AC coach of Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express were set on fire by enraged local people.

The two drivers of the express train, Rajaram Paswan and Sushil Kumar Suman, fled from the spot after being attacked. They later contacted railway officials to informing them that they were safe, ECR CPRO Amitabh Prabhakar said.

The Prime Minister “appealed for calm in the area so that the relief and rescue operations can be carried out without any hindrance,” a statement by PMO said.

The Prime Minister has directed the Railway Ministry to deploy all available resources for rescue and relief operations, it said.

Minister of state for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the express was travelling at a speed of 80 km per hour when the accident occurred.

He said although relief trains carrying doctors and nurses were sent from Saharsha and Barauni, they could not reach the spot as the law and order situation there was not conducive because of protests by angry people.

The Bihar Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for family of each of the deceased and free medical treatment for the injured.

He ruled out lapse by the state administration. He said he had talked to Railway minister Malliarjun Kharge and urged him to provide the maximum compensation to victims considering the fact that "this is a rarest of rare incident". — PTI

Brakes applied too late

* The train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and was given clearance to pass through

* The pilgrims on the tracks thought they could stop the train

* Though the driver applied the emergency brakes, it was too late

* An internal inquiry has been ordered into the accident

Compensation announced

* Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each of the deceased

* Says an inquiry by a railway safety commissioner would be conducted

* Ruled out lapse by the state administration

* Has urged Railway Minister Malliarjun Kharge to provide the maximum compensation to victims considering the fact that “this is a rarest of the rare incidents”

Back

The Southern Railway will run a passenger special between Kozhikode and Mangalore Central from August 20 to August 25 with the existing timings and stoppages of 16107/16108 Chennai Egmore – Mangalore Central–Chennai Egmore expresses.

Against the backdrop of changed political equations in Bihar, BJP on Monday joined RJD and LJP in slamming the Nitish Kumar government over lack of relief and rescue measures after a rail accident in Khagaria claimed several lives.As soon as the Rajya Sabha met for Zero Hour, Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) and Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD) were on their feet saying, “Thirty people were killed by Rajyarani Express from Saharasa at Dhamara Ghat this morning but no rescue and relief measure has been initiated after 10 hours of the mishap by the Nitish government which claims good governance.”Both the leaders were soon joined by BJP members who stood on their feet, holding Bihar government responsible for the accident.

Responding to members’ concern, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said, “The House is saddened over the accident. Minister of Railways is being contacted to apprise the House at the earliest of the steps taken so far.”

Earlier, Deputy Chairman P.J.Kurien said, “government should come out with statement.”

Mr Paswan said despite claims of good infrastructure, the condition of roads was such that no relief measures could reach the spot, for which he held the state government solely responsible.

Mr. Yadav joined him blaming the Nitish government for “anarchy” there saying the railway station has been set ablaze and situation was serious.

Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajiv Pratap Rudy (both BJP) also blamed the Bihar government for the situation.

Critics say Railways should first meet infrastructure needs

The State government has come in for criticism for showing “undue haste” in taking up a proposal of Railways to set up a suburban railway corridor.The critics say the State does not have the luxury to take up the proposal now as the infrastructure needs of its railway network remain largely unaddressed.It was Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal who submitted the proposal to the government aiming at hassle-free transportation for commuters.But the projects sidelined in the State are many — doubling of the Ernakulam- Kottayam- Alappuzha- Kayamkulam stretch, electrification of the line up to Mangalore, development of the Kochuveli terminal and a coaching depot at Nemom, full-fledged MEMU operations.Mr. Agrawal has mooted the suburban service as similar to those in Mumbai and other metros to avoid congestion on the road network.With the promise of no land acquisition, the government set the ball rolling, trying to rope in Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation for a feasibility study for the suburban service.Railway sources said clearance of the Railway Board was mandatory for the proposal as in the case of any railway projects. Moreover, massive investment is needed for the works.Transport planners and railway officials wonder how suburban trains can be operated on saturated railway lines at a time when the operating wing is struggling to squeeze in newly sanctioned trains for the State.

“Railways cannot even operate MEMU services for short-distance commuters. As the maintenance shed in Kollam has not become operational, the MEMUs are being taken to Palakkad for trip maintenance after five days and to Erode and Avadi for ‘IOH.’ It is surprising that instead of addressing the pressing needs, the suburban service is being pushed through,” a top Railway official said.

“It is a vision document of Mr. Agrawal and there is no doubt about that. It should be viewed with the realities,” added another railway official. The project to put Sabarimala on the railway map and better facilities at railway stations had all been sidelined.

Squeezing in suburban trains into the saturated lines along with mail and express trains will be at the cost of safety and it will be not relentless mobility as envisaged by Mr. Agrawal, the official said. “What is the need for air-conditioned MEMU service,” he wondered.

Automatic signalling will be needed for the service and this means massive investment. Track circuiting on a stretch will need crores — circuiting for an intermediate block section alone costs Rs. 2.5 crore.

Interlocking the level crossings, introducing separate coaches, raising of the platforms to level with the height of suburban trains and strengthening of the railway lines to ensure that the heavy cars of the suburban trains pass through marshy and water-logged areas are the challenges.

“The State has jumped into the proposal submitted by Mr. Agarwal without seeking the advice of experts like Metroman and Planning Board Member E. Sreedharan and without looking into the immediate needs,” a transport planner said.

ALLAHABAD: The railway administration had decided to fix quota in the selection of Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Sewak (JTBS) operators. Under the scheme, the selected persons are empowered to issue general tickets to the passengers at major locations in the city. Director (passenger marketing), Railway Board, Monica Agnihotri had written letters to all the chief commercial managers of the zonal railways in this regard. There would be 49.5% reservation of the total number of JTBSs on the divisional basis. Of this, 12% has been reserved for people belonging to Scheduled Caste, 8% for Scheduled Tribes, 20% for persons belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) while 9.5% has been reserved for person belonging to the minorities communities. The minorities would include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis).

In each category, 10% would be for freedom fighters and women, including war widows and widows of railway employees and 10% for physically challenged persons. Apart from this, 10% reservation for the disabled persons would be applicable in the general category also.

The JTBS operators are allowed to issue season tickets. Each season ticket is to be treated as a single ticket/single passenger for the purpose of levy of service charge. Service charges to be realized by JTBS is Re 1 per passenger. Bank guarantee had been reduced to Rs 20,000 from Rs 40,000 and security deposit has been reduced to Rs 5,000 from existing Rs 15,000. JTBS operators are also permitted to operate one additional counter provided the sale of tickets is more than 800 per day on each counter for a period of one month. They may be allowed to shift from the original location to a new location at own cost with a view to increase sale of tickets.

The tenure of contract is enhanced to three years, renewable by a tenure of three years, subject to satisfactory performance. and the operators abide by terms and conditions prevailing at the time of renewal.

The railway ministry had introduced this scheme in 2008 with a view to appoint JSTB Sewaks in various parts of cities for issue of unreserved tickets through Computerized Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS).

DHAMARA GHAT ( KHAGARIA): Union minister of state (MOS) for railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary visited Dhamara Ghat railway station late on Monday night where, in all, 28 passengers were run over and killed by 12567 Rajyarani Express while crossing the rail track earlier in the day.

The junior railway minister also visited the persons who were seriously injured in the incident at Sadar hospital, Khagaria. He personally handed over a cheque of Rs 95,000 and a cash of Rs 5,000 to each of the three admitted in the hospital. The railways has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of those who were killed by the train at the station, according to Samastipur divisional railway manager (DRM) Arun Malik.

A four-member junior administrative grade inquiry has, in the meantime, been ordered into the ghastly accident at Dhamara Ghat railway station in Saharsa-Mansi section of Samastipur railway division of East Central Railway (ECR) on Monday morning, the DRM said.

DRM Malik, shrugging off railways' culpability in the accident said, "The passengers had got off the Saharsa-Samastipur passenger train on the wrong side of the platform and were walking through the middle track at the station when Patna-bound super fast Rajyarani Express happened to pass through."

Putting the blame squarely on the hordes of passengers, he said, "The train had not only been given signal, and the train driver also blew the horn, but in the din of the passengers,who were hurrying towards Katyani temple,opposite to the railway platform, missed the engine's hoot."

"The question of suspension of any railway staff does not arise," he said. He also added that the engine driver of Rajyarani Express Rajaram Paswan had to face the mob fury and was seriously injured.

Meanwhile, train services in Saharsa-Mansi section in Samastipur division were resumed late on Monday night. 15208 Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa Express, Danapur-Saharsa Inter-City Express, Sealdah- Saharsa Haatey Bazare crossed on Tuesday.

However, Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express and Patna-Saharsa Kosi Express are suspended even on Tuesday.

In all, 15 out of 19 coaches of Rajyarani Express and 5 out of 11 coaches of Saharsa-Samastipur Passengers and engines of both the trains were torched by irate mob which had converged at the station. The burnt coaches and engines have, in the meantime, been towed away, railway sources said.

Mayhem Monday at Bihar’s Dhamara Ghat station has jolted at least a section of railway mandarins in Jharkhand out of their slumber.Ranchi railway division, which has nearly 150 unmanned level crossings and is a potential disaster belt, has decided to go on a track safety overdrive with PowerPoint presentations, seminars and, above all, designating of alternative routes like footbridges for train passengers and commuters in general.“We had long been mulling awareness campaigns to deter people from crossing tracks. However, yesterday’s incident has necessitated this drive even more,” conceded B.K. Sinha, the divisional railway safety officer of Ranchi.At Dhamara Ghat, a backward area 181km east of Patna, 28 passengers — mostly Somvari devotees to the local Kattyani Temple — who had got off two trains on the narrow tracks in between were mowed down by a third that came tearing down the middle line without warning from the station.The driver of Saharsa-Patna Rajya Rani Express had sounded the horn, but the bustling crowd crossing the tracks either did not notice or, sandwiched between their two trains, had the escape cut off. The train dragged the bodies of 13 women, three children and 12 men some 400 metres under its wheels before coming to a halt.Though the railway authorities in Ranchi are ruling out such a gory possibility at any station under the division because all of them have multiple platforms unlike Dhamara Ghat, careless crossing of tracks remains a major concern.

The railway division covers Ranchi, Lohardaga, Latehar, Palamau and Gumla districts of Jharkhand and also Purulia district of neighbouring Bengal. Currently, there are 220 railway crossings, of which only 72 are manned.

Sinha said the divisional authorities were planning to seal all unmanned crossings by 2017. “We will either create alternative roads for commuters or raise overbridges and lay subways to stem the possibility of tragedies. Plans are afoot,” he added.

The railway division’s preparations notwithstanding, danger will continue to lurk in backward pockets where tracks wend their way through tribal and semi-literate villages.

The senior railway officer proposed a solution. “We are preparing PowerPoint presentations on safety on tracks. They will be ready in a few days. From the first week of September, we will hold seminars involving social leaders, people’s representatives, mediapersons, district transport officials and police,” he said, insinuating that these people in turn would educate the grassroots on railway safety.

Statistics show that in the past four years, over 50,000 people have been killed on “railway tracks and level crossings due to trespassing”. The figure for the first six months this year is over 8,000.

Ranchi railway division alone has witnessed two major accidents in three months.

In July this year, the Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Garib Rath rammed into a truck at an unmanned level crossing near Bano in Gumla district, killing the trucker and his helper on the spot. The accident damaged the engine of the train and left its driver injured though no passenger casualty was reported.

Three months ago, another train hit a four-wheeler near Jhalda station in Purulia, killing three people. In July last year, three women were run over by the Bhagalpur-Ranchi Express at an unmanned level crossing in Jhalda.

A senior railway official blamed carelessness for such accidents. “Mobile phones with handsfree device are the biggest bane. People often don’t here the whistle blow when a train approaches. Also, some fail to gauge the speed from a distance and risk their life and limb,” he said.

Ashok Nagpal, vice-president of Chotanagpur Passenger Association, begged to differ. “General awareness about safety on tracks is definitely better among Ranchi residents compared to Bihar’s hinterland. However, a campaign is always welcome,” he added.

Should guards be posted at unmanned level crossings?

DHAMARA GHAT ( KHAGARIA): Union minister of state (MOS) for railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary visited Dhamara Ghat railway station late on Monday night where, in all, 28 passengers were run over and killed by 12567 Rajyarani Express while crossing the rail track earlier in the day.

The junior railway minister also visited the persons who were seriously injured in the incident at Sadar hospital, Khagaria. He personally handed over a cheque of Rs 95,000 and a cash of Rs 5,000 to each of the three admitted in the hospital. The railways has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of those who were killed by the train at the station, according to Samastipur divisional railway manager (DRM) Arun Malik.

A four-member junior administrative grade inquiry has, in the meantime, been ordered into the ghastly accident at Dhamara Ghat railway station in Saharsa-Mansi section of Samastipur railway division of East Central Railway (ECR) on Monday morning, the DRM said.

DRM Malik, shrugging off railways' culpability in the accident said, "The passengers had got off the Saharsa-Samastipur passenger train on the wrong side of the platform and were walking through the middle track at the station when Patna-bound super fast Rajyarani Express happened to pass through."

Putting the blame squarely on the hordes of passengers, he said, "The train had not only been given signal, and the train driver also blew the horn, but in the din of the passengers,who were hurrying towards Katyani temple,opposite to the railway platform, missed the engine's hoot."

"The question of suspension of any railway staff does not arise," he said. He also added that the engine driver of Rajyarani Express Rajaram Paswan had to face the mob fury and was seriously injured.

Meanwhile, train services in Saharsa-Mansi section in Samastipur division were resumed late on Monday night. 15208 Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa Express, Danapur-Saharsa Inter-City Express, Sealdah- Saharsa Haatey Bazare crossed on Tuesday.

However, Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express and Patna-Saharsa Kosi Express are suspended even on Tuesday.

In all, 15 out of 19 coaches of Rajyarani Express and 5 out of 11 coaches of Saharsa-Samastipur Passengers and engines of both the trains were torched by irate mob which had converged at the station. The burnt coaches and engines have, in the meantime, been towed away, railway sources said.

KOLKATA: A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has brought to light the unhygienic conditions that prevail at major stations like Howrah and Sealdah as well as on trains. The report has also exposed how unclean linen is supplied to upper-class passengers.Eastern Railway (ER) is among the four zones with the maximum number of stations without cement-concrete (CC) aprons, a pre-requisite for mechanized cleaning. Only between 60 and 71% of stations in these zones have the facility."Provision for washable aprons was found inadequate even in major stations of ER such as Howrah, Naihati, Malda, Bandel, Burdwan and Sealdah. The CAG also noted improper sanitation due to night soil deposit on damaged aprons or absence of washable aprons at the Naihati, Bandel, Burdwan and Asansol stations under ER. Thus the railway administration was not able to effectively implement the Railway Board's guidelines of December, 2006, for mechanized cleaning of all major stations," the CAG report states.

The CAG audit has also noted several shortcomings in the Clean Train Stations (CTS) scheme. "Audit observed an average shortfall of about 20% in the number of trains actually cleaned under CTS. The trains cleaned under this scheme were only partially attended," the report said. Sleeper class coaches mostly remained unattended. During joint inspection of trains attended through the CTS project, audit observed that vestibules between coaches were littered with untreated food, used plastic plates, tea cups and other items. These are then thrown out on to the tracks. Toilets in most of the trains inspected were either chocked or dirty," the report states.

According to the CAG, Indian Railways has only partially achieved the objective of maintaining cleanliness in trains mainly due to poor planning and inadequate monitoring at the zonal level. The report has also found several problems with the On Board Housekeeping System (OBHS) on mail/express trains. Under this system, housekeeping staff from private agencies are to travel in passenger coaches and clean toilets, aisles, doorways and compartments. The audit has revealed that of the 554 pairs of trains identified under this scheme, tenders were finalized only for 350 pairs. Based on average Passenger Satisfaction Index, Rs 53 lakh was recovered by South Eastern Railway (SER) from private contractors responsible for OBHS at the Santragachi and Tatanagar stations. The report also has a photograph of a water-logged, dirty, washbasin on the Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express which is under OBHS. "Audit conducted in 88 trains revealed several deficiencies. There is lack of adequate publicity through public address system in the station before the start of the journey about the presence of the executive housekeeper for cleaning and sanitation work on the running train. The terms and conditions of OBHS agreement provides for disposal of garbage at notified stations en-route. It was observed that staff didn't turn up for collection of garbage at the notified stations. Sleeper class coaches were mostly left unattended. There is lack of adequate supervision by railway officials in respect of activities of staff involved in OBHS," it has been stated in the report.

The CAG audit has also revealed that unclean linen is supplied to passengers. While ER imposed a penalty of Rs 37.10 lakh on private contractors for not adhering to quality norms, SER charged Rs 12.34 lakh. It was revealed during the audit that 'linen supplied is dirty, torn/tattered and has outlived its prescribed life.' It has been noted that sufficient numbers of automated mechanized laundries have not been set up by the railway zones, resulting in over-dependence on private agencies.

Will the proposed subway at the Mysore Railway Station connecting all platforms become a reality in the near future?

This question is doing the rounds among stakeholders as there are no signs of commencement of work despite repeated assurances.

The issue assumes significance in the wake of the accident in Bihar where several people were mowed down by a running train on Monday.

The passengers were crossing the track in the absence of a foot-over-bridge or subway when the train came speeding in, resulting in the tragedy.

Subway connecting all platforms in Mysore station was mooted as early as in 2007 and was considered to be imperative to dissuade the dangerous practice of passengers moving from one platform to another by crossing the railway track. A practice that continues unabated even today and is fraught with risk as it endangers life, as evident in the Monday’s train accident.

Sources in the railways told The Hindu that the subway costing Rs. 6.04 crore had been approved by the Railway Board and once completed it would connect all six platforms.

But the stakeholders are wondering whether the project will materialise, given the delay in commencement of work.

What is intriguing is that the Railway Board too has dispersed only a small portion of the amount for the project.

While the subway project costs Rs. 6.04 crore, the Railway Board has sanctioned Rs. 1 crore for the current year and Rs. 1.5 crore for the next financial year.

At this rate, it is anybody’s guess as to how many years it will take for the subway to materialise.

Though all six platforms of Mysore station are connected by a foot-overbridge, passengers have repeatedly complained that its height dissuaded a majority of them from opting for it. With a vertical height of 6.5 m, passengers with luggage find it hard to use the steps given the steep inclination of the stairs.