The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Criminal negligence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 16, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Criminal negligence

Sir, — The Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad's anguish in describing Tuesday's collision between the Jammu Tawi Express and a DMU train in Punjab as "murder" is understandable, given the negligence of officials who allowed both trains to move on the same track.

B.H. Shanmukhappa,
Davanagere, Karnataka

* * *

Sir, — Mr. Lalu Prasad should remember that as Railway Minister he is morally accountable for the accident.

S. Raghothaman,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — It is too much to expect today's politicians such as Mr. Lalu Prasad to accept moral responsibility for the accident and resign like Lal Bahadur Shastri.

The least he can do is remain silent instead of pronouncing instant judgment on the cause of the accident.

Sqn. Ldr. (retd.) A.V. Haridevan,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — The spontaneous action of the residents of nearby villages in rushing to the passengers' help is commendable. It is time the Railways replaced obsolete equipment.

H.P. Murali,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — The accident should not be wished away as an odd human error of two station-masters and swept under the carpet by a compensation package.

Responsibility should be fixed and technology updated. Also, there is need for an independent safety audit.

Air Cmde. (retd.)

Raghubir Singh,
Pune

* * *

Sir, — The tragedy could have been averted had anti-collision devices been installed on the locomotives. Also, the manpower should be refreshed and retrained.

Syed Ahmed Ali,
Hyderabad

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