Blame it on Vishwakarma

FJ and G

Member since
August 2003
6,434 posts

Posted by FJ and G on Tuesday, July 6, 2004 11:18 AM

'Our trains are in lap of the god'
By Peter Foster in New Delhi
Telegraph (London)
(Filed: 03/07/2004)

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.

"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."

Passengers travel on a crowded train in Calcutta
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.

Dave Vergun

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Anonymous

Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 6, 2004 11:37 AM

This guy is a beauty.

How long is the RR workday in India 24.5 hours?

Don't they still have crossing watchmen and manual gates??

Sounds safe to me...

LC

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Anonymous

Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 8, 2004 12:18 AM

[bow][bow][bow] This guy obviously studied railroad management in the United States. Regular railroad employees in India would never recognize the importance of divine mechanical guideance. [bow][bow][bow]