'Our trains are in lap of the god'

The Daily Telegraph ^ | July 3, 2004 | Peter Foster

[MadIvan]

India's railway minister has come up with a novel excuse for the appalling safety record of the world's largest railway network - he blames it on Vishwakarma, the Hindu god of machines.

Passengers travel on a crowded train in Calcutta

"Indian Railways are the responsibility of Lord Vishwakarma," said Laloo Prasad Yadav. "So is the safety of passengers. It is his duty [to ensure safety], not mine."

India's 67,000-mile rail network, on which 1.4 million people are employed, suffers from decades of chronic under-investment.

Accidents - on average there are 300 every year - are a permanent hazard for the 13 million passengers who use the railways daily.

Only last month 20 people were killed and around 100 injured when a train plunged off a bridge in western India, after hitting rocks on the line.

Mr Yadav, a low-caste activist who is a key ally of India's newly elected Left-wing government, is not generally expected to improve matters.

To date, his biggest policy initiative has been to order replacement of plastic cups on trains with earthen ones - a move calculated to benefit the potters in his home state, Bihar.

[MadIvan]

Presumably the Hindu God excuse will be deployed on the British rail network shortly. ;)

Regards, Ivan

It's very silly indeed!

[MadIvan]

Ping!

[Larry Lucido]

Hmm, the New York Times could use this. "The inaccuracies in our reporting isn't our responsibility. That's the fault of the Hindu god of fact-checking."

[Larry Lucido]

order replacement of plastic cups on trains with earthen ones - a move calculated to benefit the potters in his home state

At least the man is bringing jobs home. I bet earthen cups have to be replaced more often, too.

[snopercod]

This fatalism is a characteristic of Islamic societies as well. "Whatever happens is the will of Allah."

[MadIvan]

Obviously they're not big on the concept of "God helps those who help themselves". ;)

Regards, Ivan

[Savage Beast]

I have photographs of my wife and myself laughing hysterically as we travelled bottom-class from Hardiware to Lucknow (had to get there in a hurry--I had to bribe the ticket salesman to get those tickets). (Friends at the same time were having tea with the Maharaja. We weren't exactly having the same trip.)(But I digress...)

All I can say is Vishwakarma has one hell of a sense of humor!

[foolscap]

Also, you have to pay someone to wash them. That is of course if they do wash them.

[eno_]

Does YOUR god have his own institute of technology?

http://www.vit.edu/home.asp

[Desdemona]

They've imported the American victim mentality - blame somebody else.

What a mess.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I'd wager they haven't spent a nickle on the railways since the Brits built them when Churchill was in knee pants.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

The truth is that they have built only marginally on the rail system that was present in 1948. I think they have at present something less than 110% of the track miles that were there with the British left.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A Minneapolis pal I knew collected "Indian train wreck" stories in a notebook he kept at his office. The same damn train seemed to take hundreds off the same railroad trestle, year after year.

[CarrotAndStick]

"The truth is that they have built only marginally on the rail system that was present in 1948. I think they have at present something less than 110% of the track miles that were there with the British left. "

"...June 21, 2004 In the post-Independence scenario, doubling and multiplying of rail lines have been a major thrust area. About 11,000 kilometres of new lines have been added to the rail network. Apart from this Unigauge Policy was launched in April 1992. About 25,000 kilometres of broad gauge track have been added by way of doubling, multiplying of lines and gauge conversion. At present, there are 242 rail projects in progress including 83 new lines, 50 gauge conversion, 89 doubling, 10 railway electrification and 10 metropolitan transport projects. The projects, in shelf, need Rs. 43,000 crores for completion, requiring a multi-pronged measures for resource mobilisation. "

-The Indian Railways June 21, 2004

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railway/press_rel/june04/press-rl9.htm

11000+ kilometres! That's 6875 miles bro! Some shade of truth you painted there. Next thing you'll say, the British were kind and brotherly to the Patriots.Why not add that the Boston Tea Party was a fancy dress competition?

[CarrotAndStick]

Let me point out that I am not an expert on railways, much less the Indian Railways. If you could show me that nascent progress has been made since the British left India, I'll be humble enough to stand corrected.

[atomicpossum]

The 2004 Pontiac Vishwakarma!

[KC_for_Freedom]

Opps, this just in, the Hindu God has requested the US send several safety engineers to do a hazard survey for the vishnu.

[Cronos]

The truth is that they have built only marginally on the rail system that was present in 1948. I think they have at present something less than 110% of the track miles that were there with the British left.

Strange, incorrect figures. The Indians have expanded quite a bit on railway lines built during the raj. I remember reading reports that they've expanded the miles by something like 40 to 50% since their independence.

They have the second largest rail network in the world, after Russia or Canada, so their major problem has been maintenance of such a vast and used network -- they use their lines much much more frequently than any other nation. I think they budget for repairs once every 3 years or something as they can't look at every mile of track every year. The problem is that they have 13 million travelling by train every day and all the tracks are used on a near daily basis (with overloaded trains at times). Their safety record, considering those numbers, is pretty ok -- it could be better though.

[Cronos]

11000+ kilometres! That's 6875 miles bro!

That's a lot of miles to be added. The Indians are pretty good at development, however, they need to care more about maintenance.

[Fiddlstix]

Hmm, the New York Times could use this. "The inaccuracies in our reporting isn't our responsibility. That's the fault of the Hindu god of fact-checking."

ROFLMAO!