On Thursday morning at 6 am, seven coaches of Shaktipunj Express derailed near Obara Railway Station in Sonbhadra while on its way to Jabalpur from Howrah. This happens to be the fourth derailment incident in Uttar Pradesh in past 30 days.
On 19 Aug 13 coaches of the Kalinga Utkal Express heading to Haridwar derailed from the tracks, killing over 20 passengers and injuring more than 200. The second incident happened on 23 Aug, when five coaches of Kaifiyat Express derailed near Auraiyya district of Uttar Pradesh, injuring more than 50 on borders. The third derailment was on 29 Aug when nine coaches of Duronto Express derailed after heavy rains washed away a part of the tracks.
This is the fourth incident of derailment though no injuries were reported. Railway Ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena said that “All passengers were accommodated in the remaining coaches and by 7.28 am, the train had left for its destination. All of them are safe and no one was injured in the accident. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been briefed.” He also added that the train was running at a speed of 40 km/hr, which majorly prevented any causalities.
Former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu along with Chairman of the Board AK Mittal, taking all the responsibility of the previous accident had given their resignation. However, Prabhu’s resignation was kept on a wait by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the recent shuffle in the Modi cabinet, Piyush Goyal was made the new Railway Minister, while Suresh Prabhu was given the responsibilities as a Commerce and Industry Minister.
The matter of fact is the ministers may not be responsible for the accidents that are happening as another incident just occurred after the former minister was replaced. The point is that the government need to build up policies and schemes for the safety of the passengers and the need to improve the railway system and its administration should be given prior importance.