All these serious accidents have happened when the ministry of railways is under the watch of Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a seasoned politician but inept in handling the affairs of his ministry as the above-stated facts show. After the present accident, in order to shift the blame he claimed the unmanned railway crossing was the responsibility of the Sindh government. In 2019, some 20 accidents occurred at unmanned railway crossings. We don’t know how the minister had tried to absolve himself from these 20 accidents. He says there are 2,470 unmanned railway crossings in the country and he has written several letters to the provincial governments.
Sheikh Rashid had accepted the responsibility for the October 2019 accident and apologised for it. In January, hearing a case relating to losses suffered by the railways, CJP Justice Gulzar Ahmed had expressed annoyance with the minister over his handling of the railways. He had said, “You should have submitted your resignation” in response to which the minister had said 75 officials had been dismissed after the Oct accident. Earlier, he had said two people had been fired. The top judge had chided the minister saying you fired mostly lower-level employees.
Accident after accident is occurring, but the high-ups remain firmly ensconced in their positions. The authorities seem to be selling negligence and the people continue to reap the terrible consequences of the horrible negligence.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2020.
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