On 18-09-2009, Miss Mamata Banerjee has flagged off Sealdah-New Delhi Durant Express in the presence of few sycophant spineless greedy ‘so-called’ intellectuals performing tricks and feats of jugglery and dancing shamelessly to her tunes in a function organized by incurring huge expenditure from the exchequer extravagantly in these days of austerity drive. It is shocking to say the least that in order to obtain narrow political mileage Miss Banerjee has whimsically introduced the bullet speed Durant Express Train without considering track position and safety & security of the passengers.
There is no denying the fact that the whole of Raniganj and Jharia Coalfields stand in great danger owing to unscientific, slaughtering, indiscriminate and illegal coal mining operations carried out over 200 years by erstwhile private owners, Coal India Limited and coal mafias. More than 200 locations have already been declared unsafe and insecured by the Director General of Mines Safety, Dhanbad. The list is becoming lengthier with the passage of each day. As a matter of fact, incidents of subsidence, gas, fire, burning of underground coal, blasting and deaths have become a day-to-day regular feature. The railway tracks running through these belts are situated on vast stretches of endangered zones. It is needless to mention that the areas lying underground and near the railways tracks are considered not to be safe and secure at all.
Apart from this, the train consisting of 16 compartments has been assembled with 10 condemned compartments of “Rajdhani Express”, 6 condemned compartments of “Gareeb Rath” and an old engine brought from Ghaziabad.
Immediately after few minutes of flagging off, the engine developed technical problems and the Indian Railways was forced to stop it at Dankuni.
Are the lives of passengers less valuable than the political ambitions and whims of the ‘Didi’? Would it be unreasonable if the train is named “Durant (Suicidal) Express”?. If any kind of accident takes place on any day at any moment for satisfying the whims and caprices of Mamata Banerjee for electoral gains, the entire responsibility and onus thereof will remain with her only and none else.
There is no denying the fact that the whole of Raniganj and Jharia Coalfields stand in great danger owing to unscientific, slaughtering, indiscriminate and illegal coal mining operations carried out over 200 years by erstwhile private owners, Coal India Limited and coal mafias. More than 200 locations have already been declared unsafe and insecured by the Director General of Mines Safety, Dhanbad. The list is becoming lengthier with the passage of each day. As a matter of fact, incidents of subsidence, gas, fire, burning of underground coal, blasting and deaths have become a day-to-day regular feature. The railway tracks running through these belts are situated on vast stretches of endangered zones. It is needless to mention that the areas lying underground and near the railways tracks are considered not to be safe and secure at all.
Apart from this, the train consisting of 16 compartments has been assembled with 10 condemned compartments of “Rajdhani Express”, 6 condemned compartments of “Gareeb Rath” and an old engine brought from Ghaziabad.
Immediately after few minutes of flagging off, the engine developed technical problems and the Indian Railways was forced to stop it at Dankuni.
Are the lives of passengers less valuable than the political ambitions and whims of the ‘Didi’? Would it be unreasonable if the train is named “Durant (Suicidal) Express”?. If any kind of accident takes place on any day at any moment for satisfying the whims and caprices of Mamata Banerjee for electoral gains, the entire responsibility and onus thereof will remain with her only and none else.
