HOW SAFE ARE PASSENGERS?

IT is sad to admit that railway travel in independent India had never been quite safe and that, with each passing year, it is getting more and more unsafe.

But, in the last one decade, the number of accidents and other incidents affecting the safety of railway passengers has increased exponentially.

Accidents involving derailments and collisions take place in dozens every year resulting in the death of a few hundreds and injury to thousands.

People, by and large, have come to ignore and accept these accidents as 'acts of God' caused by mechanical failure or human error, but insecurity caused by robbers and hooligans appears outrageous.

A railway compartment is a government accommodation for its passengers as long as they are in the train.

So, why even there they should be occasionally attacked or robbed, they ask? Almost once or twice a month one hears of passengers being relieved of their belongings while passing through the Hindi heartland of India.

Over a month ago, the attack on the members of Jammu's Natrang troupe near Patna and then similar attacks on Nagas and Assamese passing through Bihar made headlines in national newspapers, while worse happened with the Biharis trying to escape Assam by train.

Then, only last week, young Manish Mishra and his friend were pushed out of the train to death by hooligans near Mathura, when they tried to save some girls in the compartment from being teased.

Since Manish happened to a close relative of our prime minister this unfortunate incident has received the publicity it deserves and the authorities have swung into action to find out who did it and who allowed them to do so in a crowded compartment.

While the identity of the murderers and their whereabouts still remain unknown this much has come to light that the GRP personnel on duty in that ill-fated train were then busy in another compartment looking after some VIP, instead of patrolling the different bogeys of the vetsibuled train.

Had the VIP not kept the GRP personnel in attention around him poor Manish might not have been murdered that night, the honour of these girls would not have been affected and the hooligans high with alcohol might have received the punishment they certainly deserve.

Then, what is the use of having such GRP personnel who neglect their duty only to dance--or are made to dance--attendance on their superiors leaving the unprotected passengers to their fate? And, because the common man has justifiably no faith in law-enforcing people and in the process of justice that the sixty odd other sensible men in that compartment considered it prudent to remain quiet when the girls there were being teased and then Manish and his friend were thrown out of the compartment.

None effectively protested, none pulled the chain, or even dared to inform the guard or the TTE on duty at the next stop of what had happened to these two young men.

Such is the common man's fear of the lawless elements and so little is his faith in our law-enforcing authority.

So, to make vigilance in running trains more effective the authorities are thinking of adding to the number of GRP personnel and equipping them with more legal and fire powers.

Unfortunately, however, the news that the GRP are being given more power, in more than one sense, does not bring cheer to poor passengers any longer.

Only a couple of days ago, two members of the GRP were found trying to rob some passengers in the Delhi-Patna Jan Sadharan Express.

What could be more distressing than the sight of policemen indulging in robbing whom they are expected and paid to protect? Whom to turn to for redress when protectors turn into robbers? And, no one believes that the policemen indulging in pillage will ever be brought to book.

Last year, it was found in the case of the sad murder of Sergent Bapi Sen in Kolkata by his own inebriated constables that, when it comes to the punishment of any one of them, however low, the entire police force, from the top to bottom, is united in doing every thing possible to save the erring ones.

So, while Nitish Kumar is trying to infuse in the common passenger the 'feel good factor' the latter has every reason to feel less safe than ever before and none will dare to come forward to protest against the anti-social behaviour of another.

Are we heading for the day when train travel will be as risky as walking through a jungle?