ProUI

Even by the standards of Indian Railways, the tragedy in Bihar in which nearly 30 pilgrims were mowed down by an express train is especially shocking. Collisions, derailment, fire and human failure cause railway accidents every year, taking a heavy toll of life. But what happened at the Dhamara Ghat station in Khagaria district on Monday morning was beyond imagination. There are cases reported every day of trains running over an odd jaywalker, or even elephants crossing the track. But when dozens of people, a majority of whom were women and children, are stranded on a track at a station that does not even have a proper platform, the picture changes vastly. The tragedy happened around 7.45 a.m. and visibility was apparently not an issue. The Patna-bound Rajyarani superfast express was crossing the station at about 80 kmph, something it apparently regularly does. The pilgrims, who were trying to cross the tracks to participate in a temple festival nearby, were trapped. They could not climb to a platform for safety and another train was standing on a parallel track. The engine driver had a green signal and was running through. On seeing the track full of people, he jammed the emergency brakes. But it was too late.

Though the agitated locals assaulted the engine drivers, it is wrong to fault the latter for a tragedy in which they arguably played just one part. The Railways claims complete right of way for a running train, and any person, animal or object on the track is, by definition, held to be at fault for being there. But the responsibility of the Railways does not end with technical adherence to right of way rules. Given the fact that Dhamara Ghat is not even a middling station, trains hardly ever stop there. Presumably, that is why a proper platform was never built. But shouldn’t the Railways have at least made provision for the safe passage of people wanting to cross from one side of the tracks to the other? At the very least, a pedestrian overbridge ought to be provided. If the Railways can maintain a small station and staff for the place, surely they have to ensure that the safety of local residents is also taken care of. Obviously, like unmanned level crossings across the country, Dhamara Ghat cannot be the only such station without basic safety provisions. Railway tracks have been a part of the Indian landscape for more than 150 years and that familiarity has bred a certain indifference to the danger involved in stepping across them. While inquiring into this terrible accident, the Railways must identify all such vulnerable places where people gather in large numbers for one reason or another and make provision for the orderly and safe crossing of tracks.

MUMBAI: Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel's weekly offs have been cancelled for the next seven days following the mugging of an American woman on a Western Railway local and an apparent ter-ror threat.Additional police drives were conducted on Tuesday as it was Raksha Bandhan and most women wear extra gold jewellery while commuting.Sources said two persons, resembling the identity sketch of Michelle Marks' attacker, were detained and are being questioned. The GRP said Marks had not noticed the robber board the first class compartment she was travelling in, till he came near her to snatch her phone. "Marks was engrossed with her phone. She was taken aback when the robber tried to snatch it. But she put up a tough fight," said a sen-ior official.Marks had boarded the empty compartment at Churchgate and was mugged between Marine Lines and Charni Road. Officials believe the attacker entered at Marine Lines as they have not been able to spot anyone matching his description in CCTV footage of Churchgate.

The GRP has interrogated at least 43 suspects, including drug addicts and habitual criminals.

Meanwhile, the city police took action against 15 vagabonds outside Charni Road station on Monday.

Even by the standards of Indian Railways, the tragedy in Bihar in which nearly 30 pilgrims were mowed down by an express train is especially shocking. Collisions, derailment, fire and human failure cause railway accidents every year, taking a heavy toll of life. But what happened at the Dhamara Ghat station in Khagaria district on Monday morning was beyond imagination. There are cases reported every day of trains running over an odd jaywalker, or even elephants crossing the track. But when dozens of people, a majority of whom were women and children, are stranded on a track at a station that does not even have a proper platform, the picture changes vastly. The tragedy happened around 7.45 a.m. and visibility was apparently not an issue. The Patna-bound Rajyarani superfast express was crossing the station at about 80 kmph, something it apparently regularly does. The pilgrims, who were trying to cross the tracks to participate in a temple festival nearby, were trapped. They could not climb to a platform for safety and another train was standing on a parallel track. The engine driver had a green signal and was running through. On seeing the track full of people, he jammed the emergency brakes. But it was too late.

Though the agitated locals assaulted the engine drivers, it is wrong to fault the latter for a tragedy in which they arguably played just one part. The Railways claims complete right of way for a running train, and any person, animal or object on the track is, by definition, held to be at fault for being there. But the responsibility of the Railways does not end with technical adherence to right of way rules. Given the fact that Dhamara Ghat is not even a middling station, trains hardly ever stop there. Presumably, that is why a proper platform was never built. But shouldn’t the Railways have at least made provision for the safe passage of people wanting to cross from one side of the tracks to the other? At the very least, a pedestrian overbridge ought to be provided. If the Railways can maintain a small station and staff for the place, surely they have to ensure that the safety of local residents is also taken care of. Obviously, like unmanned level crossings across the country, Dhamara Ghat cannot be the only such station without basic safety provisions. Railway tracks have been a part of the Indian landscape for more than 150 years and that familiarity has bred a certain indifference to the danger involved in stepping across them. While inquiring into this terrible accident, the Railways must identify all such vulnerable places where people gather in large numbers for one reason or another and make provision for the orderly and safe crossing of tracks.

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

Rail Mazdoor Union (RMU) condemned the stand of the Telangana Railway JAC which took out a rally demanding the division of the State. RMU general secretary Taranikanti Srinivas in a statement here said that calling railway workers and APNGOs as anti-social elements was most unfortunate. Mr. Srinivas demanded removal of the railway union leader Ch. Sankara Rao, who has been supporting separatism. The SCRMU was indulging in politics and should be derecognised immediately, he opined. He said that stern action should be taken against the anarchists functioning in the garb of Telangana Rail JAC.

MUMBAI: Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel's weekly offs have been cancelled for the next seven days following the mugging of an American woman on a Western Railway local and an apparent ter-ror threat.Additional police drives were conducted on Tuesday as it was Raksha Bandhan and most women wear extra gold jewellery while commuting.Sources said two persons, resembling the identity sketch of Michelle Marks' attacker, were detained and are being questioned. The GRP said Marks had not noticed the robber board the first class compartment she was travelling in, till he came near her to snatch her phone. "Marks was engrossed with her phone. She was taken aback when the robber tried to snatch it. But she put up a tough fight," said a sen-ior official.Marks had boarded the empty compartment at Churchgate and was mugged between Marine Lines and Charni Road. Officials believe the attacker entered at Marine Lines as they have not been able to spot anyone matching his description in CCTV footage of Churchgate.

The GRP has interrogated at least 43 suspects, including drug addicts and habitual criminals.

Meanwhile, the city police took action against 15 vagabonds outside Charni Road station on Monday.

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.

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).