Editor,
When precious money, time and energy get invested upon grand temples, gigantic statues, sky-kissing flags, glittering extravagant mansions, spectacle of mass yoga, Hindi imposition and luxurious amenities for the rich, it is most natural that the basic necessities of common citizens, improvement and maintenance of social/national infrastructure (through proper utilisation of human resources through mass recruitment) and security protocols would go for a toss.
In this perspective, there lies hardly any surprise when precious lives continue to get abruptly lost in train accidents at regular intervals around the country.
By extricating themselves from blind political affinity and the intoxicant named religion, it is high time that common Indians raised their voice and asked the authorities concerned not to play with their precious lives and basic infrastructure of the nation any more by playing to the gallery or catering to the lowest common denominator. How can there be shortfalls in pledged funds for critical safety-related works and track inspections in the railway sector when there is no such financial scarcity in the case of building temples and statues as part of a vulgar propaganda programme?
Let the wealth of human resources be properly utilised through mass recruitment, and wealth of the state be devoted to improving crucial infrastructure and safety protocols, so that the combination of human vigilance and security-related technology prevent such manmade calamities in the future.
Instead of concentrating on the glittering spectacle of bullet trains only for the sake of a privileged few (and to earn cheap applause) or launching Vande Bharat trains for the elite at the drop of a hat, more people-friendly trains, affordable to even the poorest of the poor, should be run throughout the nation. The main goal of the passengers is to safely reach their destination on the scheduled time with basic facilities of light, fan and running water in regularly cleaned toilets. On-board Wi-Fi, infotainment facilities or rotating seats, being zealously advertised and implanted in luxurious high-speed trains, can perhaps wait a bit.
Kajal Chatterjee,
D-2 /403,
Peerless Nagar, Kolkata