THE once safe mode of journey by train has turned into a mode of horrendous journey to the commuters due to the reluctant Railway Ministry. After the drowning of the 4-year-old Jihad at a railway colony in the city and the state’s failure in rescuing him, the carelessness of the Railway Ministry about the value of human life had claimed six lives at Kamalapur. All the local media outlets said that the Monday’s cargo-train accident killed at least six people and injured 15 others inside Kamalapur Railway Station’s Container Depot. All the deceased and most of the injured were in the locomotive which was badly damaged in the accident. It is our query to the Railway Minister how many lives are needed to reorganise the railway track and place guards on the unguarded level crossings.Statistics showed at least 300 train accidents occurred in the last two years that killed more than 100 people and injured scores of passengers. At least 40 people were killed in the recent years while attempting to cross the railway track underneath the Kuril Flyover. It is a death trap for the pedestrians. Experts opined that unguarded level crossings, frequent mechanical and human failures, dilapidated rail tracks and outdated signalling systems were the main reasons behind rail accidents over the years. The Bangladesh Railway statistics showed that a total of 590 accidents happened and some 51 persons died while another 149 were injured in accidents in 2010 only. At present, the country’s 2855 km rail network has some 1,403 level crossings whereas only 250 level crossing gates are operated by gatemen round the clock, according to available data. In Dhaka, negligent drivers and pedestrians are making the situation even worse. Following the accident that claimed four lives at Karwanbazar this September, the Railway Authorities demolished around 2500 illegal shops and establishments, mostly commercial shops, on railway land from Khilgaon to Khilkhet area. But over the time new structures were erected in most of the areas. And the unguarded level crossings are yet to have guards to limit the train accidents. After the blood-bath accident at the Railway depot, the Railway Minister visited the injured in the hospital and donated some money to them to evade his duty to ‘quit.’To limit train accidents, besides knocking down all illegal structures from the areas alongside rail tracks, a mega plan has to be taken by putting the inter-district rail connectivity outskirts the capital city. In particular, culprits who are behind the accidents, regardless of their bureaucratic status, should get due punishment.
