Burning questions

Sir — The recent accident of the Rajdhani Express near Chhapra in north Bihar has proved that the railway ministry has failed to stop train accidents in spite of the many promises made over the past few years (“Rajdhani jumps tracks, theories range from neglect to sabotage”, June 26). This mishap took place right after the announcement of the proposed rail fare hike. Five passengers were killed and many were injured as the train jumped the tracks at Golden Ganj station near Chhapra. A question confronts the government now: is it concerned only about the economic condition of the railways? It does not seem to be bothered about the safety of passengers. As many as 12 bogies got derailed, with five going off the tracks first, leading to casualties and seven bogies overturning a little later. The lack of manpower and coordination among railway workers as well as old rakes are responsible for accidents such as these. There is an absence of basic safety measures — which is worrying at a time when the country is contemplating the introduction of bullet train services. The government should also take effective steps to control the Maoist menace. Maoists are suspected to be involved in the accident.

Yours faithfully,
Janga Bahadur Sunuwar, Bagrakote, Jalpaiguri

Sir — It is unfortunate that a major train like the Rajdhani Express has proved to be unsafe. It is a matter of shame that politicians have engaged in a blame game over the accident instead of taking appropriate measures to avoid such mishaps in the future. Whenever fatal train accidents occur, a probe is ordered, compensation is announced and a political war breaks out over the issue. But no concrete steps are ever taken. The railways department has alleged that there has been sabotage by the Maoists. If the allegation is proved to be true then the government should adopt a tough stand in dealing with them. The Maoists also had a hand in the Gyaneshwari Express accident in 2010.

Narendra Modi must keep his promise of bringing about “good days” that he had made to the people of the country before this year’s general elections.

Yours faithfully,
Sudarshan Nandi, Jabalpur

Sir — The political class should be held responsible for the loss of lives due to train accidents. Politicians try to interfere with or forcibly block revenue generation for the railways through fare hikes. The lack of funds results in poor maintenance and operational faults, leading to accidents. Merely expressing grief over the incidents is not enough anymore. Politicians, cutting across party lines, should come together and devise ways to avoid such accidents in the future.

Yours faithfully,
Indraneel Chandra, Boston, US

Wasted year

Sir — The University Grants Commission has ordered Delhi University to roll back the four-year undergraduate programme and reintroduce the three-year system (“DU clears road for 3-year admission”, June 29). The tug-of-war between the two institutions had inconvenienced thousands of students seeking admission in undergraduate courses. Nearly 2.7 lakh candidates have applied for about 54,000 seats in the DU colleges. The university has finally agreed to revert to the three-year format after much dissent. The academic council and the executive council approved the scrapping of FYUP by majority votes in meetings which lasted for about 20 minutes. A few members submitted a common dissent note criticizing the ministry of human resource development and the UGC for their coercive tactics and for infringing on the autonomy of the university. The UGC should have intervened right at the outset when DU adopted the four-year course. That would have resulted in less confusion. The UGC, the principle fund-giving and accrediting body, has undermined the autonomy of the university.

Yours faithfully,
Mukul Ranjan Chakraborty, Calcutta

Sir — It is unfortunate that a year may be wasted for some students who joined the four-year graduation course last year, now that DU has gone back to the three-year format. The UGC should have intervened earlier, when the FYUP first started in 2013. The decision-makers should not have played with the future of students.

Yours faithfully,
Madhu Agrawal, Dariba, Delhi