Dear Madam,
When whole of the precious money time and energy get invested upon “Grand” temples, “Gigantic” statues, “sky-kissing” flags, glittering extravagant mansions, spectacle of mass yoga , Hindi imposition and luxurious amenities for the rich; it is most natural that basic necessities of common citizens, improvement and maintenance of social/national infrastructure (through proper utilisation of human resources by mass recruitment) and security protocols would go for a toss!
In this disgusting perspective, there lies hardly any surprise when hundreds of lives get abruptly lost in train accidents!
By extricating themselves from blind political affinity and the intoxicant named religion; it is high time common Indians raise their voice and ask the concerned authorities not to play with their precious lives and basic infrastructure of the nation any more by playing to the gallery or catering to the lowest common denominator. How can there be shortfalls in pledged funds for critical safety-related works and track inspections in railway sector when there lies no such financial scarcity(rather deluge of unlimited funds) in case of temples, statues to vulgar propaganda programme!
Let the wealth of human resources be properly utilised through mass recruitment and wealth of the State be devoted in improving crucial infrastructure and safety protocols so that the combination of human vigilance and security-related technology prevent such man-made calamities in future.
Instead of concentrating in the glittering spectacle of Bullet trains only for the sake of privileged few(and to earn cheap applause) or launching Vande Bharat trains for the elite at the drop of a hat; more people-friendly trains, affordable to even the poorest of poor folks, should be run throughout the nation. The main goal of the passengers is to safely reach their destination in scheduled time with basic facilities of light fan and running water in regularly cleaned toilets! The on-board Wi-Fi, infotainment facilities or rotating seats, being zealously advertised and implanted in luxurious high-speed trains, can perhaps wait a bit.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata-114.