IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 7401 - 7420
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: Opinion poll
Date: 03 Aug 1999 08:11:14 -0500
Hi all,
Oh my God, i was very surprised to get this mail, just now.
Postal
system at times seems better than electronic mailing. What say others ??
regards,
Anand
>From: Anand Krishnan <krish_nand@hotmail.email
>To: iti@vsnl.email royston@pan.email
>CC: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: Re: Opinion poll
>Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 18:51:42 IST
>
>Hi all,
>>
>>Godavari river bridge pictures coming up on my website soon.
>>
>Yes thats a good nomination. There was this old Godavari bridge near
>Rajamundry and there was the first of the two new ones next to it. The
view
>from the new one when a train crossed the old bridge was a fascinating
>sight. The speed on the old one was very less (25-30kmph max) and it
was an
>absolute gem of a view. This bridge is a km long.
>
>> > Perhaps we should also include "Cleanest station."
> A few stations in Kerala are kept well. Down south Trichy,
Tirunelveli.
>Kannyakumari and Madurai also can get a V.Fair(like in primary
schools). I
>was'nt impressed much with any of SCR stations including Secunderabad.
>Let me give u some snippet about Sec'bad station announcements.
Whenever a
>train(originating) from Sec'bad is about to depart, all the passengers
are
>wished a very happy journey and then the details of the men in charge
of
>the
>train are also announced. This includes the driver of the train, the
asst
>driver, the train superintendant and the guard. They also announce who
>should be contacted in case of an emergency. Very innovative idea !!
>
>>
>
>>Dirtiest station ??? Pune Jn !!!
>Its no use asking this question as there are plenty of them
>
>Kind regads,
>Anand
>
>
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Jishnu Mukerji <>
Subject: Re: More Train Crash Updates
Date: 03 Aug 1999 08:14:09 -0500
Vijay says:
> Jishnu says:
> >> trains. The ASM operated a mechanical lever with
> >> which he co-ordinated the interaction between the
> >> cablemen at either end of the station. There were
> >> four lines at the station and it is a mystery why
> >> the Awadh-Assam Express, which was to be on the
> >> Up line was diverted by the common loop to the Down
> >> line today on the path of the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra
> >> Mail in spite of the fact that the two trains cross
> >> the station daily.
> >
> >This answers my earlier question. Clearly this is a double line
section,
> >and Gaisal station has passing loops on both the Up and the Dn line,
> >most probably with a platform between each main line and its
> >corresponding passing loop.
> >
> >
> A quick look at the Bradshaw indicates that the AA Exp. should cross
> Gaisal around 4.30 pm or so
> and the Up Brahmaputra Mail passes it around midnight. So looks like
> the ill-fated AA exp. was
> running nearly 7 hrs. late that day.
Apparently there was some bomb explosion somewhere in Assam that caused
everything to be running way late. Apparently the Brahmaputra Mail of
the previous day was "regulated" at Guwahati, and several busloads of
passengers were transeferred to New Bongaigaon to catch the North East
Express there on that day. This adds further to the confusion about who
actually was on board on the ill fated Brahmaputra Mail.
Another thing that is bugging me is that no new report seems to mention
the MG line at Gaisal. Is the MG Gaisal station sufficiently far away
from the BG station to be sort of out of the picture? Did this accident
affect traffic on the MG line?
>
> >Then it goes on to say:
> >
> >> An Up train is usually diverted via the common loop
> >> on to the Down line only in the event of emergencies.
> >> Apparently there was none in today?s case. The
> >> responsibility of the station master of Panjipara
> >> is also being reflected upon because the cableman
> >> and switchman got the first alert of the approaching
> >> Brahmaputra Mail from him. Did his signal come too
> >> late by which time the Awadh-Assam Express had already
> >> been slated for the Up line?
> >
> >This one really confuses me. If the Brahmaputra Mail was heading
towards
> >Delhi, it was heading South/Down, how could it pass Panjipara before
it
> >passes Gaisal? I thought the order of stations from Kishanganj
heading
> >
> I believe the mail did not pass Panjipara at all.
> In all likelihood, the diversion of the the AA exp.
> to the Dn line happened just after it had crossed
> Panjipara (and was headed for Gaisal on the wrong line),
> with the points were being controlled by the ASM/cablemen
> of this station. What remains to be seen is whether the
> switchman got the first alert after he had set the points
> for the switch.
>
> Looks like the following two 'mystery' events in succession
> led to the disaster -
> 1. The AA exp. was switched onto the wrong track on the path
> of the Mail
What is the procedure that is used for wrong track running on this
section? Is this something that an ASM can just do, or does it require
authorization from some section controller? Seems like an ASM cannot
possibly have a global enough picture sitting in his office to
unilaterally do this sort of thing.
> 2. The outer signal at Gaisal North malfunctioned or the
> driver of the Mail passed it at danger.
Well, both the Outer and the Home would have to malfunction/be passed in
danger before a train from the North can get all the way to the
platform, where as I understand the AA Exp was standing.
Also, isn't it the case that if the next section beyond the station is
not clear the warner on the outer signal must be on. Wouldn't that at
least cause the Mail to have slowed down anticipating a stop at the
station?
All in all its seems like a goofup of phenomenal proportions. I wonder
how many human beings the August enquiry committee wil pin this one on
and then let things carry on as usual until the next mishap. Sigh....
Jishnu.
From: Samit Roychoudhury <>
Subject: Re: correction
Date: 03 Aug 1999 08:54:44 -0500
ajay
many thanks for your mail.
can we have some pictures of the locos you have... nice well taken shots
on
the ERS shed homepage? thats would be great. and maybe links to some
other
shed.
nice music :-)
regards
samit
From: Samit Roychoudhury <>
Subject: Re: my homepage is ready
Date: 03 Aug 1999 08:57:44 -0500
dear shankar!
thanks for your comments, and i am glad you liked my page.
yes i know its over rich with graphics and takes ages to load. i'll do
something about it. the problem with bigger photos is that they'll
occupy so
much more space. some of the pictures in the "history of the indian
railways" section are small as the originals were small too and of bad
quality (some were photocopies).
regards
samit
From: Samit Roychoudhury <>
Subject: Re: Your railways page/ colloquium paper
Date: 03 Aug 1999 09:01:46 -0500
hi kartik
thanks for visiting my page.
the thing is that about recycling et all, the paper was written about
five
years back and i havent given much thought to it after that. i guess
recycling come's from the indian mentality of not letting anythiung go
waste, which has something to do with our economic condition? the trends
towards disposable products are just to make producers happy i guess. ..
the
more that is disposed, more is required to replace the same, leading to
more
sales and more profits. but disposable also means cheap, and
consequently
one is not stuck with something he cant change. that makes sense in a
way.
regards
samit
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <>
Subject: Re: India train crash ...
Date: 03 Aug 1999 09:24:53 -0500
I am afraid that I am violating the norms of this list.
The following mail has nothing to do with IR, but I couldn't
let the following mail pass without comments.
> These more frequent accidents may be because of Govt. recruiting
> policy for SC/ST. Not all these people but many of them are absorbed
> or promoted just because they belong to backward classes or to fill
> the quota allotted for them. And not because of skill, qualifications.
Well, the reservation is 22.5%, and the quota is almost never
filled completely. On an average you will find 15% staff belonging
to the reserved category in a central govt. organization/department.
But somehow these 15% employees get 100% of the blame. I wonder
if the remaining 85% are all sincere, hardworking, qualified, ...
I also wonder if there is any statistics regarding how many reserved
category persons have been found responsible for accidents in the
past. I wonder if this number is significantly more than 15% of all
people found responsible for accidents.
In an organization where half the employees are surplus,
how can a group of 15% create so much havoc with safety.
(And it is no one's argument that ALL of these 15% are below average.)
> Daily, we observe the railway workers travelling to workshops. The
> way they behave, goonda nature. The corruption in workshops is very
> high. They threaten the supervisors, conduct their own businesses
> in working hours. I wonder how still the suburban trains have not
> met with such grave accidents. But the day is not far away, I fear.
Are you suggesting that all goondas belong to reserve category.
I doubt it very much. I myself work in a govt organization.
There are a couple of reserved category persons who create
a nuisance once in a while, but most of the people creating
nuisance belong to the general category (let me add, high caste
Hindus, lest you suggest that these must be other minorities).
Shrinivas, you may have the last word on this. I won't be saying
anything else on this list. Of course, I will be glad to discuss
the issue privately.
-dheeraj
--------------
Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi (0512) 59-7077/7638
(Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering (0512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology (0512) 59-0725/0413
(Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email
Home Page: <A HREF="http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj">http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj</A>
From: Samit Roychoudhury <>
Subject: Fw: Opinion poll
Date: 03 Aug 1999 09:42:41 -0500
you havent seen howrah!
> >Dirtiest station ??? Pune Jn !!!
> Its no use asking this question as there are plenty of them
>
> Kind regads,
> Anand
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
>
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Photos of Disaster
Date: 03 Aug 1999 10:35:20 -0500
Hi,
If anyone of you are interested in seeing a few snaps of the disaster
u
may visit <A HREF="http://excite.starmedia.com/photo/location/ind/3">http://excite.starmedia.com/photo/location/ind/3</A>.
Kind regards,
Anand
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Vikhroli Bomb Blast ... Location report ...
Date: 03 Aug 1999 10:35:48 -0500
I was in the Thane fast local, which was two trains behind the affected
train, (running on line 3 - Dn fast/through track) on my way to Vikhroli
...
The train just stopped midway between Godrej and Vikhroli, about 1950
and
was held up for at least an hour. After 10-15 minutes of waiting, (by
which
time the Thane local crept upto just behind the Karjat local, and the
Punjab
Mail crept up to be just behind the Thane local) the motorman announced,
through the speakers in the train, that the train (in which i was) was
delayed because the train in front had halted. After a further 15
minutes,
the motorman anounced (in Hindi) that a bomb blast had taken place in
the
Ambarnath bound Local at Vikhroli Station, and that the train would take
time to move. He further announced that any passenger who wished to
alight
and walk to Vikhroli Station to take an onward slow were free to do so.
Half
of my train (including me) jumped out and walked it to Vikhroli Stn (on
the
tracks), where there was a huge crowd. the Place was swarming with
people
and Police investigating the incident. All the slow locals leaving from
Pf 1
were packed, as was the platform. By the time I reached Vikhroli
Station,
the Ambarnath Train was cleared from the site and the Karjat Local
reached
platform 3 .. The line was cleared by then and trains started to move.
In Mumbai Central Railway, Lines/Platforms 1-2 are only for Slow locals
(halting at all local suburban stations)
PF 1 - Dn direction towards Thane, Kalyan etc
and PF 2 - Up direction towards Kurla, Dadar, Mumbai CST
Lines/Platforms 3-4 are only for Fast locals (halting at selective
stations), Through Mail/Express/Passenger Trains and Goods Trains
PF 3 - Dn direction towards Thane, Kalyan etc
and PF 4 - Up direction towards Kurla, Dadar, Mumbai CST
Rajan
> On Tue, 3 Aug 1999, VIRAF P.. MULLA wrote:
>
> > BTW are you aware of the bomb blast in a CR LOCAL yesterday night
at
> > Vikhroli? It seems the train had just cleared our Godrej complex
when it
> > happened.
>
> Yes, it happened near Vikhroli station. It was Ambernath bound local,
one
> Mr. Panchal of Dombivli died later. He probably jumped off the running
> train after the blast another Sardar was injured in the leg.
>
> Shrinivas
From: S.Shankar <>
Subject: (no subject)
Date: 03 Aug 1999 11:20:08 -0500
Hello,
It happens only in India.
This is something we have been repeating off and on, esp. with regards
to the railways.
And in the midst of all this talk of banning paan and bidi from railway
stations all over the country, (has the ban really worked?) check out
this Muchhad Paanwallah's site!!!!
Really, it happens only in India.
MAybe if paan had not been banned from stations, we will soon have an
All India Railway station paan-beedi hawkers website!!
<A HREF="http://www.indiawww.com/muchhad/main.htm">http://www.indiawww.com/muchhad/main.htm</A>
Shankar.
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: More Train Crash Updates
Date: 03 Aug 1999 11:42:31 -0500
Vijay Balasubramanian wrote:
> >> trains. The ASM operated a mechanical lever with
> >> which he co-ordinated the interaction between the
> >> cablemen at either end of the station. There were
> >> four lines at the station and it is a mystery why
> >> the Awadh-Assam Express, which was to be on the
> >> Up line was diverted by the common loop to the Down
> >> line today on the path of the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra
> >> Mail in spite of the fact that the two trains cross
> >> the station daily.
> >
> >This answers my earlier question. Clearly this is a double line
section,
> >and Gaisal station has passing loops on both the Up and the Dn line,
> >most probably with a platform between each main line and its
> >corresponding passing loop.
> >
> >
> A quick look at the Bradshaw indicates that the AA Exp. should cross
> Gaisal around 4.30 pm or so
> and the Up Brahmaputra Mail passes it around midnight. So looks like
> the ill-fated AA exp. was
> running nearly 7 hrs. late that day.
It was late that day. I fail to understand how a driver who works that
road daily did
not realise that he was switched to the wrong track. That can be done
only with a
paper ticket which necessitates the train standing while the station
master personally
gives the authority to proceed on the wrong track. This is PURELY human
failure. Think
of how many such incident get away !
Apurva
From: Anne Ogborn <>
Subject: Re: More Train Crash Updates
Date: 03 Aug 1999 14:29:41 -0500
News of this crash has been very prominent in the US,
much more so than other crashes of similar nature on IR.
Of course this is a very severe accident, but I think it must
be a slow news day in the US as well. The accident was the headline
article in the San Francisco paper I read over breakfast this morning.
--
Anniepoo
Need loco motors?
<A HREF="http://www.idiom.com/~anniepoo/depot/motors.html">http://www.idiom.com/~anniepoo/depot/motors.html</A>
From: Nitin Joshi <>
Subject: Reservation
Date: 03 Aug 1999 14:36:31 -0500
I agree that this probably is not the right forum to address the issue of
Job reservation.
None the less, I agree in toto with Dheeraj. Reservation probably does
have its problems, but then as has been pointed out the balance 85%
are certainly not upto normal working requirements. The political
scene itself is a glaring example - you have MP's, Ministers and the
likes from both the reserved and unreserved categories and yet one
can hardly tell the difference in the two???
----- Original Message -----
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <mailto:dheeraj@cse.email
To: VBalasubramanian@softrax.email <mailto:VBalasubramanian@softrax.email ; smg@godrej.email <mailto:smg@godrej.email
Cc: irfca@cs.email <mailto:irfca@cs.email
Sent: 03.August.99 12:24
Subject: Re: India train crash ...
I am afraid that I am violating the norms of this list.
The following mail has nothing to do with IR, but I couldn't
let the following mail pass without comments.
> These more frequent accidents may be because of Govt. recruiting
> policy for SC/ST. Not all these people but many of them are absorbed
> or promoted just because they belong to backward classes or to fill
> the quota allotted for them. And not because of skill, qualifications.
Well, the reservation is 22.5%, and the quota is almost never
filled completely. On an average you will find 15% staff belonging
to the reserved category in a central govt. organization/department.
But somehow these 15% employees get 100% of the blame. I wonder
if the remaining 85% are all sincere, hardworking, qualified, ...
I also wonder if there is any statistics regarding how many reserved
category persons have been found responsible for accidents in the
past. I wonder if this number is significantly more than 15% of all
people found responsible for accidents.
In an organization where half the employees are surplus,
how can a group of 15% create so much havoc with safety.
(And it is no one's argument that ALL of these 15% are below average.)
> Daily, we observe the railway workers travelling to workshops. The
> way they behave, goonda nature. The corruption in workshops is very
> high. They threaten the supervisors, conduct their own businesses
> in working hours. I wonder how still the suburban trains have not
> met with such grave accidents. But the day is not far away, I fear.
Are you suggesting that all goondas belong to reserve category.
I doubt it very much. I myself work in a govt organization.
There are a couple of reserved category persons who create
a nuisance once in a while, but most of the people creating
nuisance belong to the general category (let me add, high caste
Hindus, lest you suggest that these must be other minorities).
Shrinivas, you may have the last word on this. I won't be saying
anything else on this list. Of course, I will be glad to discuss
the issue privately.
-dheeraj
--------------
Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi (0512) 59-7077/7638 (Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering (0512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology (0512) 59-0725/0413 (Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email <mailto:dheeraj@iitk.email
Home Page: <<A HREF="http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj>">http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj></A>
From: Jishnu Mukerji <>
Subject: Re: Hell on wheels: Times of India editorial
Date: 03 Aug 1999 14:41:59 -0500
S Pai wrote:
>
> Jayant wrote:
>
> > Also, it is not a mere influx of funds and technology that
> > is required. Given proper maintainence, semaphore signals
> > are not so unsafe, it is just that they require a larger
> > workforce.
>
> True! It is not that the existing technology is unworkable; it is
just
> that it leaves more scope for the phrase "human error" to be brought
up
> when things break down because of bigger problems in the system
> (overutilization, staff being overworked, etc.).
>
> Besides, one mustn't forget that every automatic device for safety can
and
> will be subverted because it is inconvenient, doesn't work properly,
is
> hard or expensive to maintain, or hampers normal operation, etc. It
is
> difficult to make things really fail-safe without the full
participation
> and cooperation of the operational and maintenance staff.
Well said! It seems to me that all indications are that every possible
safety interlocking was worked around to get the AA Express onto the
down track in this case. Why would this be less likely if even more
interlocking was in place? I think the fundamental issue of inculcating
a sense of responsibility and discipline in the entire human chain of
operation is being overlooked. When people are forever asked to break
this rule or that to take care of the pitiful needs of ego satisfaction
of this boss or that, how can they be expected to not break other rules
when it seemingly gives them an opportunity to ease their jobs or some
such? I think, no amount of addition of layers upon layers of technology
will solve the fundamental problem of breakdown of discipline along the
entire chain of management. Until this fundamental issue is first
accepted to be a problem and then squarely faced and dealt with, the
rest is probably futile. No amount of technology can work around obvious
utter failure of management, unless of course the human element in the
overall process is completely eliminated, and that will be a long time
in the coming.
Just my 2 paise.....
Jishnu.
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Re: Anatomy of an Accident
Date: 03 Aug 1999 20:43:24 -0500
Muhammed Khan wrote:
> I have tried to visualize what could be a hypothetical cause and is
attached
> as a word file. I think that beside the interesting discussions in
IRFCA, it
> should take more active part in railway safety, especially when it has
an
> international expertise in various disciplines.
Hi: Would it be possible for you to paste the text in
your doc file into the message field itself ? It will
help those of us who run UNIX machines (and cannot view
doc files) to read your analysis. Thanks:
--
JS
--
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: AWS and Accident Prevention
Date: 03 Aug 1999 21:02:14 -0500
Jishnu Mukerji wrote:
> Well said! It seems to me that all indications are that every possible
> safety interlocking was worked around to get the AA Express onto the
> down track in this case. Why would this be less likely if even more
> interlocking was in place? I think the fundamental issue of
inculcating
> a sense of responsibility and discipline in the entire human chain of
> operation is being overlooked.
Yes, either that, or a vital technology input that can
reduce the number of accidents caused by human failure: I
mean AWS (automatic warning system) installations that can
stop a train automatically if it enters an occupied section.
Mechanical systems, even if interlocked, would depend on
signalmen and drivers; track circuiting and automatic signalling
still puts the onus on drivers. AWS should remove that last
human link. Individual vigiliance and responsibility are
important, certainly, but there has to be a last-ditch
safeguard against mistakes.
I have not understood why introduction of AWS in India
is not linked with that of track circuiting in the first
place, specially when you realise that systems in Europe
have had such equipment for over a century. All talk of
200 km/h trains et. al. is meaningless without some way
to stop an intruding train. Or will it need a Rajdhani
or a Shatabdi to crash seriously (God forbid !) before
priorities are understood ?
A functioning AWS system can reduce the need to depend
on detonators, flares, radio, flashers, sirens (!?!),
special clearances and most other human-dependent
systems. IR was known to have tried out AWS in the
Mumbai Suburban region; does anyone know the status
of this ?
It has been pointed out that IR is still statistically
no more accident-prone than most other RR systems. However,
we need to not only be on par: we need to be far MORE
safe than other RRs if IR intends to continue operating
on its massive scale.
Also: is there information anywhere about major systems
and their use (or lack of use) of some form of AWS ?
The
Chinese and the Russian networks, for example ?
--
JS
--
From: Muhammed Khan <>
Subject: Anatomy of an Accident
Date: 03 Aug 1999 21:24:18 -0500
IRFCA:
It was tragic that an avoidable accident was not avoided. The pain is
more
when the media high lights that there is an accident every day on the
Indian
Railways.
I have tried to visualize what could be a hypothetical cause and is
attached
as a word file. I think that beside the interesting discussions in
IRFCA, it
should take more active part in railway safety, especially when it has
an
international expertise in various disciplines.
My sympathies with the families of the involved and prayer for those no
more with us.
Muhammed
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: Nothing to do with........(Re: India train crash ...)
Date: 03 Aug 1999 21:31:51 -0500
I fully agree with Dheeraj. It is like twisting the issue out of shape
to
produce an outlandish conclusion.
1) What if it turns out that all of those responsible for the accident
were
high caste chaste hindus?
2) Once it happened that the behavior of the RPF/GRP was attributed to
the
fact they they were mostly north indians. It finally turned out that
they
were all mumble-bhais!(Thanks for this lovely expression KW)
One should think twice before shooting off the mouth, moreso if it is
going
into bytes as in this case.
Harsh
>I am afraid that I am violating the norms of this list.
>The following mail has nothing to do with IR, but I couldn't
>let the following mail pass without comments.
>
>
>> These more frequent accidents may be because of Govt. recruiting
>> policy for SC/ST. Not all these people but many of them are absorbed
>> or promoted just because they belong to backward classes or to fill
>> the quota allotted for them. And not because of skill,
qualifications.
>
>Well, the reservation is 22.5%, and the quota is almost never
>filled completely. On an average you will find 15% staff belonging
>to the reserved category in a central govt. organization/department.
>But somehow these 15% employees get 100% of the blame. I wonder
>if the remaining 85% are all sincere, hardworking, qualified, ...
>I also wonder if there is any statistics regarding how many reserved
>category persons have been found responsible for accidents in the
>past. I wonder if this number is significantly more than 15% of all
>people found responsible for accidents.
>
>In an organization where half the employees are surplus,
>how can a group of 15% create so much havoc with safety.
>(And it is no one's argument that ALL of these 15% are below average.)
>
>
>> Daily, we observe the railway workers travelling to workshops. The
>> way they behave, goonda nature. The corruption in workshops is very
>> high. They threaten the supervisors, conduct their own businesses
>> in working hours. I wonder how still the suburban trains have not
>> met with such grave accidents. But the day is not far away, I fear.
>
>Are you suggesting that all goondas belong to reserve category.
>I doubt it very much. I myself work in a govt organization.
>There are a couple of reserved category persons who create
>a nuisance once in a while, but most of the people creating
>nuisance belong to the general category (let me add, high caste
>Hindus, lest you suggest that these must be other minorities).
>
>
>Shrinivas, you may have the last word on this. I won't be saying
>anything else on this list. Of course, I will be glad to discuss
>the issue privately.
>
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Re: India train crash ...
Date: 03 Aug 1999 21:40:52 -0500
Harsh Vardhan wrote:
> In a country where the railway minister is not expected to come with
any
> qualifications or love for railways, it is grossly unfair to expect
that all
> 1.6 million employees would be even interested in the nitty-gritty of
the
> day to day operations.
I think you've nailed it here: why is it that
IR has to be run by politicians and not by
professionals ?
--
JS
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From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <>
Subject: Re: India train crash ...
Date: 03 Aug 1999 21:48:10 -0500
> But Viraf,
> IR just like some other public sectors willingly
takes
> sportsmen on their rolls. I personally feel it is a good gesture on
their
> part for a sportsmen starved country. Before the big money came in
even the
> cricketers used to be on rolls of IR and some banks. You may not be
aware
> but Railway sportspersons account for most of the medals in any
> international/national sporting event. Jyotirmayee Sikdar is just one
of
> them. Now please don't ask me who she is!
>
> And a wrestler or a weightlifter(not a bodybuilder) is supposed to be
> working out(officially) and not poking his nose in dusty old files.
Fully agree Harsh, but the chap whom I am refering is a bodybuilder &
not
a weight lifter and is not working out (officially) on his body in the
gym to make the IR proud but is actually doing a second parallel job in
a
private gym.
Viraf.