And twisted to target junior engineer, Amir Khan. Perpetrators were the well oiled hate eco-system, Sudarshan news (run repeat hate offender, by Suresh Chavhanke) and amplified by the BJP IT Cell chief, Amit Malviya. Indian Railways was quick to deny the fake news. “This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present & a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency,” Chief  Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary clearly said. The false media reports even spoke railway staff “absconding” after the train accident near Bahanaga Bazar railway station.

How Hate becomes currency 

Within days of the accident on June 4/5, hate mongers had first tried to blame the tragedy that claimed dozens of lives of poor migrant labour on a neighbourIng religious place of worship, an ISKCON temple that was dubbed being a Mosque!

Background

On June 6, 2023, the CBI had begun with the investigation into allegations of criminal negligence leading to the Balasorerailway accident involving three trains in Odisha, with officials saying the agency may take views of rail safety experts to get to the bottom of the case. As per the official data provided by the government agencies, this said railway tragedy, one of the worst train tragedies in the country, had claimed 278 lives and left more than 1,100 people injured.

The entrusting of this severe case of technical lapse that ought to have been investigated by a well-equipped committee of experts had been widely criticised in the public sphere.

The very first rumour that was spread was that since the tragedy had occurred on a Friday, a link was set to the Muslims, who gather to offer Juma prayer in the afternoon. It was further alleged that a ‘mosque’ had existed near the site of the incident.

And now, after a few weeks have passed since the said accident, another attempt to communalise the tragedy had been made with the help of social media. Yesterday night, a news was being shared that the CBI has taken action by sealing the residence of the Junior Engineer responsible for the Soro section Signal.

A report by the India Today had first provided that the said engineer, who resided in a rented house in Balasore, was interrogated by the investigative agency, and he and his family were now reported missing. Soon after this news started doing rounds, Sudarshan TV, one of the major contributors to spreading anti-Muslim sentiments amongst Hindus by propagating misinformation, jumped on its islamophobic band wagon and started claiming that the absconding junior engineer is a Muslim man named Amir Khan.

The tweet are as follws

Predictably, the right-wing media, extremist Hindu outfits, BJP IT cell and the far-right twitter trolls and bots started floating this whole idea on twitter, which set the whole ball rolling and the Hindus started bashing the whole Muslim community. It reached such a level that the Hindu trolls and Hindu community started making offensive and derogatory statements against Muslims, seeking justice, spreading more misinformation and disinformation.

On Tuesday, the Chief Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary reacted to the said false media reports about railway staff absconding after the train accident near Bahanaga Bazar railway station. He said, “This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present & a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency.”

The video can be viewed here:

#WATCH | Balasore train accident | “A few media reports are coming in that a Bahanaga staff is absconding and missing. This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present & a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency,” says Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO South Eastern… pic.twitter.com/Htc538cIFp

— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2023

It is essential to note that after the said clarification was given by the South Eastern Railway officer, the tweet by Suresh Chavhanke, the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan TV, was deleted by him!

The efforts of the officers working on the train accident, the Odisha government and the Odisha police have been commendable, pro-actively ensuring that no communal colour is given to any issue incidental to this tradegy, especially as the investigation is ongoing.

Previously too, the Odisha Police had said some social media handles have been circulating “ill-motivated” posts on the Balasore accident and that legal action would be taken against them. “We appeal to all concerned to desist from circulating such false and ill-motivated posts. Severe legal action will be initiated against those who are trying to create communal disharmony by spreading rumours,” they had said, as reported by the OutlookIndia.

Related:

Tragic Odisha train crash claims lives of Bengal migrant workers

Odisha’s Balasore train accident: misplaced priorities, poor safety measures, CAG & key committee recs ignored: People’s Commission

Kharge slams union govt for asking CBI to probe Odisha train accident: Letter to Modi

Hate and the Balasore train tragedy: Welcome to 2023 India

The post Balasore Train tragedy: The claim that a Muslim Junior Engineer caused accident false: Railways appeared first on SabrangIndia.

All of them were sole earning members of their families and multiple younger siblings. Rafikul is also responsible for his disabled sibling, along with his wife, children, and other members of the family. On the same day, Kanaipur’s Amarnath Mudi (23) left home in search of work in Chennai. After the horrific three-train-crash in Odisha, each of their family members spent the next few harrowing days, trying to locate their whereabouts.

India is still shaken by the tragic train accident in Odisha, that has reportedly killed over 290 people and multiple families are still waiting for the missing bodies of their loved ones. As per reports from The Wire, South 24 Parganas district has witnessed the highest number of casualties of migrant workers from Bengal, with the number of deceased having already crossed 27, and more than 19 people are still missing. The report aptly points out “the dire situation in rural Bengal, where pervasive corruption and lack of job opportunities push people to seek better fortune elsewhere. Despite the risks involved, year after year, the lure of slightly better prospects compels them to board south-bound trains.” For years, our work at CJP and Bangla Sanskriti Mancha has pointed out these problems that thousands of rural migrant workers, and their families, dealing with unemployment or lack of state-sanctioned-infrastructure to protect their rights, have been going through.

When we reached Rafikul Sheikh’s house in Kanakpur the next day, representing CJP and Bangla Sanskriti Mancha, his family was visibly devastated. His sister Beli Bibi told us, “My brother works hard to send money to his family. He has three kids, his wife, all of us brothers and sisters are dependent on him financially. We have not been able to function at all, our brothers are running from pillar to post trying to find him, but to no avail. I request the Government to help us.”

Sanaul Sheikh’s wife has been inconsolable for three days straight, she has refused to take a single morsel of food and spent two nights without any sleep. She breaks down even before she can complete a sentence, “All I want is for my husband to return home now.” Block development officer Nazir Ali and Police station officer of Paikar, Kabul Ali Saud, visited these workers’ houses in Kanakpur on Saturday and promised to do their best to get their information as soon as possible.

On Sunday afternoon, Shanta’s neighbours had gathered around the house. One of them says, “Shanta is a hardworking man. He spends months working for his family. This is very heart-breaking. I don’t know what will happen to the family if something happens to him. But why is it taking so long for them to be identified? Even though Paikar’s Officer-in-charge and Block Development Officer visited their houses, they still haven’t been able to get any information about them.”

Tragically, as of today, all four of them, Rafikul Sheikh, Amarnath Mudi, Sanaul Sheikh and Shanta Sheikh have been identified as deceased, as per the administrative reports. The bodies of Rafikul and Sanaul have been identified and they are being brought home. Shanta’s body is yet to be handed over to the family as a DNA test has not been done.

Below are the photographs of the deceased Amarnath Mudi, Sanaul Sheikh and Shanta Sheikh

Sanaul Sheikh   

Sanaul Sheikh’s wife

Shanta Sheikh


Amarnath Mudi                                                                                          

We visited the houses of Rafikul, Shanta and Sanaul in Kanakpur, with relief on Sunday, representing CJP and BSM. We have promised to stand by them and provide any help necessary. Later, we travelled to Kanaipur and visited Amarnath Mudi’s house to assure them of our continued support through these harrowing times.

Team CJP and Bangla Sanskriti Mancha on their way to the victims’ families

Our continuous work for the rights of migrant workers has enabled us to build a strong connection in the remotest areas of rural Bengal, to reach as many migrant workers’ families as possible. In the darkest of times such as these, what’s most important is to stand by those who need our presence and assurance every step of the way. Be it official paperwork in the coming days or financial relief for the impoverished families, our organisations are hard at work to provide some comfort to these people, who are currently facing the ultimate test of human life.

Related:

Young migrant worker held by Police in Chennai, CJP comes to the rescue

Teen migrant labour goes missing | How is the system failing them?

New offices to address migrant labour issues in Bengal, workers express relief

The strange case of the disappearance of two migrant workers, CJP intervenes

The post Tragic Odisha train crash claims lives of Bengal migrant workers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Secondly, considering that there was already one serious instance of failure of the BPAC system on February 8, 2023 in the South West Railways, and one more now in Odisha, causing a large number of fatalities and injuries and the consequent human trauma, the Railway Board should reconsider running super-fast trains, knowing well that there is a possibility of more such BPAC failures occurring. To provide accident-free railway travel, the Ministry of Railways should shift its focus from speed to safety.

Thirdly, to deal with the chronic problem of heavy congestion, which has reached critical levels on about 10,000 route kilometer of trunk routes, Railway Board should come up with a detailed long-term plan for removing the chronic bottlenecks and upgrading the existing lines for 160-200 kmph on key trunk routes and adding new double-track lines for the higher speed of 200-250 kmph. The plan should not only be prepared but diligently adhered to in the next 10 to 15 years.

Fourthly, as far as accountability for the lapses that led to the Odisha accident is concerned, the Commission feels that those at senior levels in the government and in the Railway Ministry should own it more than those at the lower levels.

Considering the magnitude of the accident and the wide range of complex technical issues,  instead of CBI which has a history of inordinate delays (NIA has not filed any report on the Kuneru and Kanpur accident cases though 7 years have passed) a panel of three Commissioners of Safety (to be chosen by the Chief Commissioner of Safety) should be constituted to complete the study started by one Commissioner of Safety which should also look at the system failures like non-utilisation of funds allotted, huge vacancies in the safety category staff, inadequate upgradation of the existing trunk routes and adding new double-track lines on the key trunk routes to eliminate congestion, independence of the Railway Board, non-implementation of earlier recommendations and plans, and suggest clear steps to be taken.

A panel of three CRSs instead of just one can be expected to do a more thorough technical examination and be less susceptible to outside pressures. In the present scheme of safety regulation, the Railway Safety Commissioner submits his report to the Railway Ministry. The experience so far is that the Ministry often glosses over the findings, without effective follow-up action. In order to obviate the scope for it, we feel that all Railway Safety Commissioners’ reports be placed before the Parliament for effective action. The RDSO should collaborate with IITs, CSIR labs, and Universities to develop technologies/ adopt technologies to suit our country and to carry out studies on a range of topics such as demand and capacity, safety, punctuality, competition offered by the growing road and air modes and prepare a long time road map instead of non-implemented National Railway Plan. This is the key fifth recommendation made by the Commission.

Sixthly, the focus should be on strengthening the Public sector Railways instead of talking about Privatisation creating confusion and demoralisation in the minds of executives and employees, filling up of all vacancies immediately, converting contract employees into permanent employees with accountability and development of appropriate technologies.

Other recommendations include:

7. Governance is crucial, autonomy with accountability should be provided to the Railway    Board instead of making it subservient to the Minister and Parliament’s supervision        should be strengthened.
8. Bringing back the Rail Budget instead of submerging it with the union budget as it existed before.
9. Instead of finding scapegoats and trying to shift blame, the Govt and Railway Ministry should own up to responsibility and start remedial action as suggested.
10. Invest in the renewal of over-aged assets like track, bridge, signal etc and clear arrears. Draw effective plan for dedicated freight corridors, dedicated express lines,  expansion of the network, increase the average speed of goods trains and passenger services and increase the railway share of goods and passengers with government investments like done by China.
11. The declining share of Railways in the transport sector should be stopped and rail’s share should be increased to provide social security and safety at affordable rates, reasonable speed and adequate comfort to the majority of the Citizens.
12. The Commission is setting up a Task Force to monitor the action taken by the Ministry of Railways on the People’s Commission’s recommendations above, so that the Commission may keep the public at large of the action taken.

Statement on Odisha railway accident

The Commission, at the outset, wishes to express its deep concern at the occurrence of such a ghastly accident as the one that took place in Odisha recently. The Commission further wishes to express its grief at the death of more than 280 persons and injuries suffered by hundreds of others.

Indian Railways (IR) is among the largest of the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in the country, annually moving 8.71 billion tonne-km of freight, 500 million passenger-km of passenger, employing more than 1.2 million personnel, who are professionally among the best in the world. IR provides one of the largest social security covers in the country, offering travel facilities at affordable charges for millions of short and medium-distance travellers belonging to low-income groups.

In particular, the Commission wishes its appreciation to thousands of local villagers who spontaneously provided immediate relief to injured passengers. The prompt way in which the NDRF personnel rose to the occasion is commendable.

Misplaced priorities and inadequate intervention on safety

In view of the critical dependence of the economy on railways and the increasing demand for railway movement of both freight and passenger traffic, the Railways ought to make additional investments in its basic infrastructure facilities such as the carrying capacity of its ageing tracks, the signalling systems, the anti-collision systems (Kavach), and other auxiliary facilities, crucially required for enhancing the safety of railway movement and its capacity. Of late, the policymakers have chosen to introduce high-speed passenger trains such as bullet trains and Vande Bharats, which in turn call for matching investments in the railway infrastructure. Unfortunately, the emphasis placed by the policymakers on speed has not been matched by their focus on safety, resulting in several ghastly accidents such as the latest accident that occurred in Odisha near Balasore.

While one expects the planners in the Ministry of Railways to make a professional analysis of the factors that have led to such accidents and draw lessons to improve the existing safety systems, accidents come and go by without lessons drawn. When an accident takes place, the senior public functionaries seem to feel satisfied by announcing palliatives such as ex-gratia relief for the victims and their families and displaying sentiment and emotion, knowing well that such limited relief does not address the immense human trauma to which the affected families are subject. It is also not uncommon to find senior public functionaries to place the blame on sabotage, rather than the technical factors and the institutional system for governance that lie behind those accidents. The latest accident in Odisha is yet another example of this.

Ignored Anil Kakodar committee recommendations, Justice Khanna Committee Report and CAG observations

There have been several reports on the ways and means of enhancing safety in railways, including those submitted by technical experts to the Railway Board, the reports submitted by the CAG to the Parliament and comprehensive reports brought out by Parliament Committees. A review of the action taken on each of these reports shows how the Ministry is yet to act on each of the important recommendations in those reports.

For example, the High Level Safety Review Committee (“Kakodkar Committee”) submitted their report in 2012 and made several far reaching recommendations on railway safety which include the setting up of an independent statutory railway safety authority, strengthening of the RDSO and the adoption of an Advanced Signalling System (akin to the European Train Control System) for the entire trunk route length of 19,000 km within 5 years. More than a decade has elapsed since then but such an independent regulatory authority, directly accountable to the Parliament, is yet to be set up. As far as the recommendation on the signalling system is concerned, the Ministry could have involved highly professional CPSEs such as Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) in locating the most advanced signalling technologies in the world and indigenised the same for adoption in IR, which has not been the case.

Acute congestion on the trunk routes:

Today rail in India suffers from subpar safety performance and slow speed of trains. Both these problems have to be dealt with together, one at the cost of the other would be undesirable for the future of rail transport in the country, particularly passenger travel.

By the Railway Board’s own data in the National Rail Plan, congestion has reached critical levels on about 10,000 km of the trunk routes (the quadrilateral and the two diagonals and some other routes) which are carrying trains at 125 to 150% of the capacity against the desirable limit of 70 to 90% capacity utilization. This acute congestion has resulted in inadequate windows of traffic blocks for the essential routine repair and maintenance of the track and other line infrastructure and insufficient slack to deal with operational hindrances and emergencies. Overcrowding in trains, particularly in the non-AC general and sleeper class coaches, is another serious concern which also results in higher fatalities in accidents. Acute congestion on the trunk routes and overcrowding in trains are adversely impacting both safety and speed.

The Vision 2020 plan for the future growth and expansion of Indian Railways, presented to the Parliament in 2009, had envisaged raising of speed on the existing trunk routes to 160-200 km/ph and building new higher speed lines. Evidently, this acute congestion on the critical trunk routes is the main reason for the failure to raise speed on the existing lines through upgradation of tracks, signals etc to compete with the road and air modes. No new lines have been constructed on trunk routes to cater to the growing demand for more trains.

Demands a comprehensive systemic evaluation

RDSO seems to have relied on a few private companies for introducing electronic signal locking systems such as Block Proving by Axle Counter (BPAC) using UFSBI. Considering that the indications so far in the specific case of the Odisha accident point to a possible failure of the BPAC system, it calls for a technical review of the functioning of BPAC systems, the extent to which they are failure-proof and their vulnerability to manual interference or manual lapses. Such an examination will be possible if the factors leading to the accident are first subject to a systematic technical evaluation rather than being hastily subject to an investigation by the CBI, as is the case now, on a somewhat subjective assumption that the accident was caused by sabotage.

The Commission has come across a  disturbing communication dated 9-2-2023 from PCOM, South Western Railway (it is available in the public domain) on the failure of the BPAC system at Hosadurga Road station of Birur-Chikjajur section of Mysore division on 8-2-2023, involving Sampark Kranti Express, leading to an “averted head-on collision” with a goods train. This was an alert that should have woken up the Railway Board to the possibility of the BPAC systems failing at times. The Commission wonders whether the Ministry has acted on such an important alert and ordered a thorough evaluation of the BPAC systems in position. This also brings us to the question whether the RDSO needs further strengthening.

Demands for filling of vacancies and an end to outsourcing and privatization

The Commission wishes to point out that whenever an accident such as the recent one in Odisha takes place, the tendency on the part of the Ministry is to presume that there are manual lapses and hold the lower-level functionaries such as the railway station personnel responsible for the accident rather than introspecting on whether its own policies and programmes have indirectly contributed to the recurrence of such accidents. The complete lack of concern shown for the filling of vacancies in Railways which is more than 3 lakhs, increasing contractual labour replacing regular ones, the efforts on asset monetisation and privatisation need to be mentioned as the other important example of misplaced priorities. The Parliamentary Committee on railway safety pointed out that 60% vacancy among staff for maintenance of tracks, inspection of railway bridges etc. has adversely affected track maintenance and inspection, which is crucial for minimizing the occurrence of accidents.

Speed vs Safety:

While faster trains no doubt help Railways provide relief to passengers, though a small proportion of the total volume of passenger traffic, thus helping it to compete with road transport and airlines, increasing the speed of trains in a congested section will slow down other passenger trains catering to short- and medium-distance, low-income passengers as well as freight trains. In fact, if at all speeding train movement is to be considered, it should be in the case of freight-carrying trains, to maximize economic returns.

The Commission feels that zero-tolerance for accidents is far more important than indiscriminately launching super-fast trains such as Vande Bharats. The highest priority should be given to safety, before introducing any more super-fast trains.

Peoples Commission on Public Sector and Public Services 

About Peoples’ Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS): Peoples’ Commission on Public Sector and Services includes eminent academics, jurists, erstwhile administrators, trade unionists and social activists. PCPSPS intends to have in-depth consultations with all stakeholders and people concerned with the process of policy making and those against the government’s decision to monetise, disinvest and privatise public assets/enterprises and produce several sectoral reports before coming out with a final report. Here is the first interim report of the commission- Privatisation: An Affront to the Indian Constitution.

Related:

Balasore tragedy: survivors found amidst corpses; unclaimed dead bodies still an issue

Kharge slams union govt for asking CBI to probe Odisha train accident: Letter to Modi

Hate and the Balasore train tragedy: Welcome to 2023 India

The post Odisha’s Balasore train accident: misplaced priorities, poor safety measures, CAG & key committee recs ignored: People’s Commission appeared first on SabrangIndia.