Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
On 2nd June 2023 there was a triple train accident in Bahanaga Bazaar Station, Balasore district of Orissa, in which 291 passengers died and nearly a thousand were injured. The railway authorities were quick to put the blame on the station masters and signal and maintenance (S&T) staff. 2 Station Masters (SMs) and 1 Electrical Signal Maintainer (ESM) from S&T Department were dismissed from service. In addition, two Senior Section Engineers from S&T Department and1 ESM were arrested. All the above are Class 3 employees. They were made scapegoats for this horrible accident.
However, on 29th October, 2024, the Orissa High Court granted bail to the three railway employees who had been dismissed and who were in jail for more than a year . It said “Composite negligence by railway authorities to be blamed for Bahanaga Bazar accident who failed in upkeep, maintenance, and proper functioning of the #signalling system at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station.”
In its ruling it also said “The railway tragedies were happening frequently due to defective signalling system or failure to maintain the signalling systems properly.”
It also said “There is no doubt that had the authorities been more careful and sincere in discharging their duties, the accident could have been averted, thereby saving the human lives lost”
Peoples Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS) in its report released on August 22nd 2024 (Urgent need to demand accountability for recent spate of railway accidents – AIFAP) had said, “The People’s Commission on Public Sector and Public Services expresses their deep concern and outrage over the recent series of accidents on the Indian railway network. The spate of railway accidents since June 2023, starting with one of the worst-ever disasters, at Balasore, and the most recent one, just a few days ago in August, highlights serious problems with the administration of the Indian Railways. There is an immediate need to apportion responsibility for this unfortunate situation, starting right at the top of the political and administrative leadership. “
The real reasons for the increasing number of accidents are a systemic failure in the railways train operations system.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) which submitted its report after the Kanchenjunga Train Collision of June 17th 2024 had noted that it was AN- ACCIDENT- IN – WAITING”. The report said improper instructions along with inadequate counselling of train running and operations staff was one of the reasons of the accident.
The CRS in its report also said there is an urgent need to overhaul train operations across Indian Railways to prevent such accidents from recurring. It also said that frequent malfunctioning of automatic signaling was defeating the purpose of deploying the mechanism.
From all the above it is clear that there is a composite negligence by the Railway authorities in ensuing safe travel for the crores of rail passengers and there is also an urgent need to overhaul train operations across the Indian Railways. Also, it is the high Railway officials who need to take responsibility for the increasing number of rail accidents instead of blaming the lower safety category staff of S&T maintainers, LPs, ALPs, SMs, pointsmen, etc. for all accidents and handing them out punishment including dismissal from service and jail.