By: Rimsha Pareshri
The tragic train accident that took place at Retipur railway station near Daharki in Sindh last Monday afternoon has resulted in various defects in the railway system of the country, lack of capacity of the government and concerned top officials to make timely decisions and negligence. Suffice it to say, as a result of which 64 passengers have been killed till the last report and more than 150 injured are in life and death struggle in different hospitals. There are also official reports about this railway track of Sukkur division that its condition is very dilapidated. Most of the major railway accidents in Pakistan to date have taken place on the same track. Some time ago, in a meeting chaired by the Railway Minister, it was decided to repair it and the work was started on an emergency basis, but then the mega project of ML-1 came in its way which was aimed at destroying the old and dilapidated railway. The tracks have to be replaced. It was said that no major investment could be made in repairing the said track of Sukkur Division before ML-1. So the project was left in the middle and 13 bogies of the Millat Express train from Karachi to Sargodha derailed on Monday night as per the planners’ concerns and climbed to another track and two minutes later the Sir Syed Express from Rawalpindi to Karachi which She was coming on this track and collided with these bogies. This led to the eighth train accident during the three-year tenure of the present government, which has been ordered to be investigated. Only after an investigation will it be known whose incompetence or negligence caused the accident. According to the initial report, the joint of the track was connected by welding which was found to be broken. The passengers of both the trains were fast asleep at the time of the accident. Rescue operations were also delayed due to the darkness of the night. The bogies were cut off by heavy machinery and the bodies and trapped wounded were removed. Due to this extraordinary delay and the difficult process of transporting the heavy machinery to the site, the survivors could not have been harmed, but the Pakistan Army, Rangers, police and locals rushed to the spot for help. gone. All the bigwigs of the government and the opposition have expressed their sorrow over this tragic incident and the nation is mourning. The incident was also mentioned in the National Assembly session on Monday, but the opposition, as expected, shifted the blame to the government, demanding the resignations of the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister, and the government benches responsible for the past. No reasonable proposal could be made to prevent such accidents. Railway traffic was completely closed after the accident, which was restored on Tuesday after the affected track was evacuated. Railway authorities have announced Rs 15 lakh assistance for the families of those killed in the accident, which is not a substitute for human lives. The most catastrophic railway accident in Pakistan took place in 1990 at Pinnu Aqil Cantonment (Sindh) in which 350 passengers lost their lives. Before and after this, there have been such catastrophic accidents which can be prevented till date. No action was taken as per requirements. The present government will have to take necessary steps under ML-1 (C-Pack) to avoid bothering past governments in the future.