Train tragedy: What did Bihar's railway ministers do all these years?

Patna, Aug 21: Two days have passed since the tragedy took place on the railway tracks in Khagaria district in Bihar. Still, severed human body parts are found lying in and around the tracks even after the bodies were lifted and stray dogs and vultures are competing for a feast.

The scene at Dhamara Ghat Railway Station where 37 pilgrims were mowed down by a speeding train on Monday is far from an assuring one. Scattered body parts, blood-stained tracks, vandalised station, remains of burnt railway property, damaged papers are yet to be cleared and local railway authorities did not know when business will resume as usual at the station.

Poor railway infrastructure: What did Bihar's railway ministers do all these years?

The tragedy has raised some important questions. Bihar has been home of a number of railway ministers but yet stations like Dhamara Ghat remain nondescript and inaccessible through roadways. Neither do such stations have a public address system that could have proved handy in alerting those people, including children, who were run over by the train. Bihar's current chief minister Nitish Kumar has also been the railway minister in the past. What were the authorities doing yet?

Not far from where Monday's disaster took place, perhaps the deadliest train accident in India's history took place in June 1981. More than 500 people were killed on the fateful day after a loaded passenger train plunged into the Bagmati River from over a bridge amid rainy conditions. The mishap occurred when the driver tried to save a cow crossing the tracks.

OneIndia News