Horrible Amritsar Train Tragedy Toll May Cross Over 100!

Necessary lessons must be drawn from the Disaster!  

- Balbir Saini & Rajinder Kumar/ 20.10.2018

On Friday evening, at around 6.50 pm, two trains overran a crowd watching the effigy burning of Ravana, near Amritsar in Punjab, a traditional celebration in India on the occasion of hindu religious festival of Dussehra, leaving more than 50 dead on the spot and more injured.

A section of the crowd, engaged in enjoying the effigy burning, was occupying the railway tracks when the incident happened.

It turned out that the Dussehra Committee that had organized the event, had not even informed the railway control room of the event. Nobody bothered as the crowd gathered inside and around the open  railway tracks till the two trains speeding up from opposite directions on parallel tracks, mowed down dozens.

The first train, Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU, is told to have taken more casualties. As the speeding train overran a section of crowd, those who jumped over to parallel track in order to escape the fate, were run over by another train- Amritsar-Howrah Express.

Part of a crowd of more than five thousand, that had gathered at Dhobi Ghat near Jaura Fatak, two kilometers on the outskirts of Amritsar railway station, to watch the event of effigy burning, around three hundred had occupied the railway tracks to enjoy the event from closer proximity.

Railway tracks immediately turned into a ghastly scene of mutilated human bodies strewn all around the tracks, compounded by screams of injured and relatives of the victims.

It was already dark when the accident took place. The celebrations that were to take place around 5.30 in the evening, got delayed as the wife of Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was to alight the effigy, got late. This delay, proved fatal as by the time the effigy was alighted by Mrs. Sidhu, two trains got on their way.

Such delays by the elite leaders, in their public appearances are more a norm than exception and more deliberate than casual. Leaders think it fit in their wisdom to make the public gatherings wait for them desperately before they oblige the public by their noble appearance. 

Minutes before the accident, one of the organisers of the event, boasted on michrophone from the stage, addressing Mrs. Sidhu, the chief guest, "Madam, look here. People are so eager to see you, that they don't care about the railway tracks even as 500 trains pass by. Over 5 thousand people are occupying the railway tracks at this moment". 

As the accident took place, wife of the Minister, who was the Chief Guest at the event, instead of coming to aid of the victims, immediately slipped away from the spot leaving for her home.

Late in the day, the police registered an unnamed FIR, but instead of taking any action against the organisers of the event, the poor driver of the DMU, Arvind Kumar, was detained by the police, today, to cover up the crime committed by their elite masters. 

The region falls under Ferozepur Division of Northern Railways. Railway officials told that they were not informed by the organisers of the event that railway tracks would be occupied. The organisers, however, claim that it was the duty of Railways to ensure that there was no obstruction on the tracks.

Organisers of the event, Vijay Madan, the sitting corporator, his son and others are close aides of the ruling Congress Party in Punjab. They fear no action against them for their callousness that has resulted in such human tragedy of such big proportion. Of its kind, it is probably the biggest one in history of railways where two trains consecutively overran a huge crowd on the tracks.

Neither the Railway authorities nor the event managers are ready to take the responsibility of the accident. Political leaders and administrators in civil and railway administration, have started blame game against each other.

The accident thoroughly exposed the pitiable situation of local administration and public health. While private hospitals in the city refused to admit the poor victims of the accident in anticipation that they will get no remuneration for it, the Government hospitals were even more pathetic in providing medical aid to the victims. Neither sufficient ambulances could be mobilized nor sufficient doctors were available in the hospitals. Mortuaries were full and bodies were scattered in hospital compounds everywhere outside the mortuaries. Angry people took to protest in Civil Hospital and Guru Nanak Hospital, where most of the bodies were lying on the floor, unattended.

With total number of victims no less than 150,  more than 60 are reported to be dead by late yesterday night and the number goes on counting.  Contrary to the claims of the local authorities that they were doing enough to tackle the situation, the victims and their relatives were vocal in countering these claims. 

As Navjot Kaur Siddhu, wife of the Minister, who escaped shamefully from the incident site, later visited Guru Nanak Hospital, she had to draw flak from the people. Still, instead of shaming herself, Sidhu countered her critiques saying that, “those who are doing politics over the incident, must be ashamed”. 

Later, Mr. and Mrs. Siddhu termed the accident to be an act of God. People, however not convinced by the claim, attacked the residences of the organisers, after which the organisers have run away. A mob has also attacked the railway station.

While announcing financial aid of Rs. 5 lakh for the victims and a probe into the tragedy, the Government failed to address the real concern and worries of the people.

Amritsar incident shows that the bourgeois political leaders and the administration under them is totally insensitive towards the ordinary people. The elite establishment is never of any use when people need it.

Even big cities like Amritsar are not equipped to deal with exigencies. The heartless bureaucracy, that nurtures itself upon public resources, does nothing for them. People are left to suffer their own fate.

Economic development in India, that draws the 3rd, 4th, 5th and the 21st centuries together, is marred by a contradictory character. Alongside the electric and hi-speed express trains, we find the age old customs like effigy burning being performed and celebrated at public places on such a vast scale all over the country. The two totally incompatible and irreconcilable cultures are clubbed together. No precautions, whatever their volume may be, can prevent the accidents at such events. Alongside the potential danger they present for such accidents, the events like effigy burning on Dussehra, Idol immersing on Ganesh Chaturthi, crackers on Diwali etc. are perennial source of immense air and water pollution. The capitalist development, that embraces this worn-out and antiquated social milieu and founds itself upon it, is the real source of all disasters.

There is a whole series of such tragedies in the past that includes fires, stampedes and other incidents of mass catastrophes. All political parties and leaders of the bourgeoisie, not only promote these outdated practices, rituals and traditions, but in fact build themselves up upon them.

Capitalism in India, like in all other backward countries, is deeply marred with this backwardness and is organically unable to get rid of it. Only the proletariat can overthrow the old society after conquering the power. There lies no road inside capitalism for liberation of the mankind from these disasters that are outcome of the fusion of the age old with the very new. Only socialism can produce a new society free from the deadly virus of this backwardness.