Train journey turns perilous
It is difficult to understand why rail authorities have a difficult time gauging the estimated number of passengers who will be going home for the Eid festivities. This is a ritual that tens of thousands of passengers make every year to be near their loved ones during one of the two most important Muslim festivals. A report in this paper on September 10 gave the grim picture of hundreds of passengers travelling on rooftops of passenger trains. There are no safety harnesses up there and predictably some 40 passengers were injured when they fell off the roof of a train in Sirajganj as they got hit by hanging wires above the track.
Indeed, we find people hanging on for dear life on roofs, in front of engines simply because there are not enough seats in the bogeys of trains leaving Dhaka to various parts of the country. We are told by railway authorities that the traffic of passengers this Eid is heavier than the earlier Eid. Is it not time for authorities to own up to the fact that their contingency plans for heavier-than-anticipated traffic was not well thought out? And how is it that those responsible for safety and security of train journey conveniently choose to look the other way which makes it possible for people to travel in an insecure manner that costs lives and injury? It is bad enough that there are fewer carriages than needed, people must contend with the perils of overcrowding. Let us hope that when next Eid comes round, railway authorities have figured out a workable plan of action that allows for passengers to make a trip to their home districts that will not involve risking their lives.
Comments