Railway minister Mamata Banerjee behaves as the epitome of the absentee landlord created by the East India Company under the Permanent Settlement in the erstwhile Bengal Presidency to maximise land revenue collections. Under this scheme, if there was an “accident” in the normal interplay of natural forces and the rainfall was deficient, the people had to lump it and comply with the extortionist tax demands anyway; if the rain gods smiled, the absentee zamindar — namely, the revenue collector for the Company — made a killing over and above what he was required to surrender to the British trading house that then governed India. This helped to enhance his grandeur and improve his fortunes. Even a child in West Bengal can see the parallel. The Trinamul Congress leader insisted on the railways when she became minister. She thought the fief was large enough for her to dispense favours left, right and centre to her constituency, which was the whole state, in order to win it over in preparation for her coronation as chief minister one day. The planning was perfect for normal times, and “Didi’s” image as benefactor of Bengal would have grown as she would go about setting up railway production and maintenance hubs in the state, and make available jobs and contracts for the deserving and the undeserving. However, it has been raining accidents since “Didi” took charge of India’s oldest public sector undertaking, and like the ryots (tenants) of old, it is the people — the train passengers — who must bear the brunt. In the raj of the present minister, the railways’ attitude to safety concerns appears singularly cavalier. She merely passes the buck by invoking sabotage and foul play, the stock-in-trade of those who are out of touch with the work they do. Ms Banerjee forgets that the people the railways serve are mostly poor. Ergo, her inability or unconcern hurts the poor the most.
Given its coverage, the most extensive in the world, the railway system — along with the postal service — ought to be the pride of India. It binds the country together, not unlike the monsoon. It makes mobility possible at an affordable price to the remotest corners of a far-flung land. Many goods will not be worth producing if the railways weren’t around to ferry them to their destination. It is not far-fetched to say that the railway is on the same scale of importance as agriculture for the country’s economic well-being. And yet Ms Banerjee has seen to it that it is acquiring a dubious reputation for safety under her stewardship. Fourteen months, 200 accidents, over 400 deaths, and more than 600 injured. How is that for a record? The minister is not expected to be all over the place to prevent accidents, but she is expected to be at the national headquarters of one of the country’s most vital national assets — to give the ministry leadership, direction, focus, goals, and a m
ission that accords with the aspirations of the people and the needs of the economy. But few can recall when Ms Banerjee was seen in New Delhi’s Rail Bhavan last. On the other hand, everyone can recollect when she was stomping on the streets of Kolkata raising slogans against her political opponents. Railway accidents have been a declining trend in the past 10 years, and suddenly they are becoming a rising concern. This is chiefly because there isn’t anyone around at headquarters to direct the upgrading and maintenance of rolling stock and tracks, and enforcing strict codes to cut out avoidable accidents, such as the one that we saw at the Sainthia station in West Bengal on Monday in which about 66 persons were killed and a great many seriously injured. If “Didi” can’t shape up, she must ship out. It’s as simple as that.