Naxal sabotage exposes chinks in Rlys armour
New Delhi: The Naxal sabotage in West Midnapore on Friday morning has brought the railway securityunder the scanner. With over a million people travelling by trains everyday, how secure are the railwaytracks that run through six Naxal-sensitive states?
The Friday sabotage, which has claimed 80 lives so far, happened even after a railway alert issued in five Naxal-sensitive states. Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee says the railways have become a soft target. India's 65000 km of railway tracks have long been soft targets for all kinds of protests across the country. And now they are being increasingly targeted by the Maoists. Over 18000 km of railway tracks run through six Naxal-sensitive states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. In 2008, sensitive routes and stations had been identified for heavy patrolling and increased security. In West Bengal alone, 185 stations have been identified as sensitive. The railways have over one lakh trackmen to inspect the tracks.
RR Jaruhar, former Member, Engineering of the Railway Board, says: "How can you secure it? Make people stand at every 100 metres? But you cannot do that."
Ultrasonic flaw detection machines are also being used, but the machines detect only technical faults. They can't pre-empt any sabotage.
In 2009 alone, 58 cases of attacks on railways including bomb blasts and sabotage, were reported. The current year 2010 has already witnessed 32 incidents so far.
Bannerjee has already told the Parliament that Maoist attacks have already caused a loss of Rs 500 crores to the Railways .
VN Mathur, former Member of Traffic in the Railway Board, says: "Law and order is a state subject. We have allocated special fund for the Government Railway Police which is responsible for this."
On the Friday sabotage, railway officials maintain that they did take precautionary measures. The Gyaneshwari Express was put under speed restriction of 75 km/hr as against 130 km/hr on a normal day.
Patrolling is intensified on the tracks and light engine has been escorting a convoy of five trains, the officials added.
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