Indian Railways : On the Right Track?

The Union Minister for Railways, Ms. Mamta Banerjee, deserves applause for her strong convictions and to stand on her own terms surmounting the political pressures, to protect the interest of the common man. A hike in fuel price will lead to rise in prices of almost all commodities. Already an average Indian is finding it difficult to survive due to the inflation and price hike of essential commodities such as food. Bringing down the prices may be a Herculean task after allowing for a hike.

“Social viability should be the priority than commercial viability for measuring projects", as stated by the minister herself. But society is not restricted to only the minister’s state. Patronizing the interests of only the constituencies/states of the MPs/ministers forgetting the fact that they are Union Ministers has become a predominant phenomenon in Indian poltics. None to blame. MPs are answerable to the people who have elected them and so all the sops.

Certain matters require urgent attention if the minister is really concerned of the society and a common passenger.

1. Improve cleanliness of the coaches and ensure proper maintenance of coaches. (Rats, cockroaches, ticks and noxious insects are co-passengers in a second class compartment and wonderfully even in AC coaches).

2. Toilets in trains have to be cleaned before the start of every journey and twice a day (at least once a day) in case of long journey trains. The unbearable smell from the toilets due to lack of cleaning makes the journey suffocating especially for the passenger seated at either end of the coaches.

3. Use of technology to avoid the human waste in railway tracks can be given a thought.

4. One or more waste bins can be provided in all coaches irrespective of the class and these should be emptied at regular intervals at certain chosen stations to prevent spilling. Passengers have to be strictly advised and penalized if found to take rules for granted.

5. The rusted coaches have to be replaced by good ones. The iron protrusions of the windows, doors and jammed panes are life threatening.

6. Hygiene of food served from the pantry has to be ensured. In most trains, the food purchased from outside (sometimes stale depending on the fortune of the passenger) is served in the pantry at a higher rate as per the imagination of the person in the pantry.

7. There should be a public grievance system/ feedback system for every journey and a system to take appropriate action or address such grievances.

8. The availability of tickets for crowded trains/routes has to be ensured by allowing more trains in such routes. Innocent passengers are exploited and looted by the immoral TTEs/ railway employees. Corruption by the TTEs and other railway personnel should be strictly prevented by strict penalties to the guilty.

9. Proper monitoring system should be employed to avoid the unreserved passengers occupying the reserved seats and unauthorized sale of tickets to ‘influential’ passengers undermining the merit under the reservation system. Some ‘smart’ passengers take a general compartment ticket and enter even into the AC and enjoy the journey by bribing the TTEs when most others have to cancel their journey due to non availability of tickets/ seats.

10. The tatkal reservation scheme should be opened atleast 5 days prior to start of the journey instead of 2 days to facilitate for reservation for 'to and fro' journeys in case of emergencies. This can be implemented for long distance trains.

11. Senior citizens, disabled and sick persons should be provided with facilities for mobility/lift for moving from one platform to the other or for boarding the trains since climbing the stairs and walking through the crowded and lengthy platform will be difficult. Underground subways may be a viable alternative. Also provisions have to be made to reserve the lower berths to senior citizens (if any) in the compartment.

12. In case of long distance journeys, the safety of passengers has to be ensured by employing adequate and efficient police personnel. A facility for complaining about mis-behaviour of co-passengers (if any) has to be made available for ensuring safety of lone/lady passengers.

13. It would be extra sweet if a medical practitioner(s) and medical shop is provided within the train itself.

14. Smoking and drinking by the passengers and railway personnel/ pantrywalas should be strictly prevented.

All these rules/ ethics have to be enforced uniformly across the country. There are more serious problems in some parts of the country like burning the trains by hooligans to mark protests, mangling the railway tracks by bomb blasts, train accidents due to carelessness or climatic factors such as fog and flood, looting of passengers by antisocial elements, delay in journey by hours due to heavy rail traffic etc. The problems are numerous and practical solutions may require cooperation of other departments/ministries as well.

It is not easy and as simple as it looks for the largest public enterprise to make the train journey comfortable. At least the minister can address the basic necessities (comfort is a word of distant future). The public will be more than happy to give a few rupees as fare if the services are good. All is well when said but in practice…?.

Travelling in train should not be at the risk of one’s health and life. HAPPY JOURNEY INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!!!

Patriotism or Hooliganism?

People in politics are not going to win nor gain by the divisive politics and ‘state spirit’ jingoism. The policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ followed by the British is sadly taken up by our politicians. It reminds of the story of two goats which fought fiercely and the clever monkey who went away with the meal. India has more serious challenges and threats to tackle. Why not concentrate on these, than play petty politics on some insignificant divisive strategies?

What Mr. Bachchan has done (by turning down the award from Australia in the wake of a spate of attacks on Indians in that country) is laudable and reflects his concern and urge to identify with the problems of the fellow country men. Every one can have his/her own take in any issue without affecting the unity and integrity of the country. That’s the true spirit of Democracy !!

Revelling in regional/ cultural heritage is one thing and using the same to divide the nation, to denigrate/ drive away people from other parts of the country from Mumbai/ Maharashtra is another thing. Instead of debating on this issue, the government should be courageous to stop at any cost any filthy move to divide the nation on the basis of religion or region. Or else India will be shattered by the regional political parties into mere pieces of land without a soul. India is for all Indians (Indians in the true spirit)

The war of words between the SS chief, RG and SRK is but a futile exercise. Regarding SRK, he is not the film industry. Infact there are thousands of people/ petty workers toiling in the industry. By targeting or preventing the screening of the particular movie, SS is clearly exhibiting its hooliganism and is sure alienating itself from the masses/ working class (if it cares for them?). The bus diplomacy and the Kargil war that followed the infiltration of the terrorists from the ‘great neighbourhood’ is worth mentioning in this context. Diplomacy and gestures of friendship were never greeted in the same manner by the ‘great neighbourhood’ ('great neighbourhood' in SRK’s own words). Innocents have been killed by terrorists and in bloody wars. It is both ironical and hypocritical that our soldiers have sacrificed their precious lives for us to safely watch the cricket matches(played with the people from this ‘great neighbour’ country against whom they have fought). It's true all are not same and there is no point in reviving the wounds of the past and hostility.The good and the bad exist everywhere. Bollywood has a huge fan following in Pakistan. Cinema can transcend beyond boundaries and abridge the chasm and enemity. But caution has to be exercised in dealing with the 'great neighbour' and lessons have still to be learnt from the past incidents. Before making 'flaring up' remarks casually, it would be wise if one shows enough discretion. It's between states and not individuals. But individuals such as the celebrities owe as much responsibility while making comments.

Cricket has lost its spirit as a sport/ game. In the era of blind and wretched commercialisation, cricketers have but demoted to 'bunch of puppets' in the hands of commercial barons. When there is money to make, everything else can take a back seat. It’s time to remember the lessons of the school days. Vande mataram!!!!