Bihar Train Tragedy–Who is to be Blamed?

On 19th August 2013,The Dhamara station in Bihar’s Khagaria district witnessed a horrific train tragedy in which as per the reports 37 people lost their lives and around 24 others sustained injuries.The incident occurred between 7:30 am to 8:00 am when the Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express travelling at 80 kmph ran over them,the express train was not scheduled to stop at that station..

More details are available here–Hindustan Times.

Bihar Train Tragedy
Image Courtesy–Google

This post is in no means to discuss the tragedy or to give a report on the tragedy rather I am writing this clarify who is to be blamed for this horrifying incident.

Who is to be blamed–The Government,The Railway Officials,The Linemen,The Passenger of the Train,The Loco Pilot or The People who were crossing the tracks….Tell me Who is to be blamed?

Since Dhamara is a very small station there is no facility of foot over-bridge and the people have to take the tracks to go either side of the Station and truly speaking this station does not see much crowd except this time of the year,the auspicious month of Sawan during which devotees heads to the Katyayani Temple and the way to reach this temple is through this station.

• As I mentioned the Express train bound to Patna was not scheduled to stop at The Dhamara station,so it was travelling with its usual speed as I guess the it was given Green Signal by the lineman or the Railways,so blaming the Railway Person or the Lineman is out of question as they didn’t know that some people will be crossing the tracks,as we all know tracks are not meant to be used as footpaths or for crossing activities.

• The question of blaming the Passengers in the Train is really out of context and they can never be in question.

• Now most of the People are blaming the Loco Pilot of the Train but my question is What is there to blame him?He intentionally didn’t run the train on the people crossing the tracks and he tried his best to prevent the tragedy but to stop a train with 80 kmph and about 700 passenger on board is surely not like playing a game..Had he tried to save those 37 people the accident would have been more fatal,more lives would have been lost,more injuries would have been reported.

• Now coming to the people who were crossing the Tracks-I feel there was some mistake on their parts as they knew they were crossing the railway tracks,they should have been more careful,had they looked on both sides(right and left),they could have easily sighted the train coming towards them and who the hell on earth doesn’t hear the horn of train or the sound of the engine–especially Engines of Indian Railways.I guess they were so immersed in devotion that they were far from reality.

• The Government,The Railway Dept. has also a part to play in this tragedy,In India every year many people lost their lives crossing railway tracks,even though Railway is making a huge profit they are yet  not able to  provide certain amenities for the betterment of the People–No matter how small a station is,a Foot over-bridge is must,had their been a Foot over-bridge such kind of tragedy never would have taken place.

So all in all the Tragedy happened because of the negligence on the part of the People crossing the tracks and The Government and Railway Dept. for not providing required amenities to the People even after knowing the rush this time of the year.

Apart from that some people,better to call them mob took the incident to another level burning train coaches,uprooting tracks,beating up the loco pilot,destroying public properties and railway offices to show the anger.I wonder why they showed their anger after the incident,they could have shown their anger before and pressurizing the Govt. and The Railway Dept. to build a Foot Over-Bridge in Dhamara station and they could have saved the lives of 37 people.

With all the sympathy to People who lost their lives and condolences to their family I still believe it was those people on the tracks who were fully responsible because they were not aware..So,I urge everyone to be aware as much as you can in every step of life as there is no harm in being aware and awareness surely help us keep away many problems….

India-Corruption-A Solution Part II

In my earlier post I wrote about possible solution to Population and Pollution control.If you haven’t checked it out here it is.

In this post I will try to give some solutions on controlling Corruption.However when we hear the term Corruption,we generally erupt with anger or become very sad and start bashing our leaders.But I believe the main root of Corruption is We-The Common People who provide opportunities to Corrupted Persons and never raise their voice against them.

For Me–Those who are suffering and accepting injustice are equally responsible with those who are doing injustice for making Corruption a never-ending Business..

Corruption is Huge and it is growing day by day in a huge country like India and pushing India to backfoot.I know we can’t eradicate corruption in a day,no-one can but what I believe is with continuous effort from each and every citizen we can minimize it on day-to-day basis.As we all know ‘Impossible is Nothimg’.With this I provide my solutions to curb Corruption.. 🙂

• Education:-In today’s world there is nothing that Education cannot teach us and it should be taken as one of the main tool to educate people about their rights.Those who are uneducated do not know about the process,provisions and procedures through which they can get justice.Corrupt public servants try to make fool of them and often demands for bribe.It is due to unawareness in the field of law,public rights and procedures thereof that a common and an uneducated suffer out of the corrupt society.This suggests that if we are educated, we can understand our rights well.Even the educated pay bribes…But that’s a different story.An Educated should always use their Knowledge for the right use and not for paying bribe.An Educated person will know about the Do’s and Dont’s while dealing with procedures and they should use their knowledge in getting the job done in a clean way.

• RTI Act:-A very important act enacted by the Parliament of India  “to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens“.You can read about more RTI here.It empowers any Citizen of India to aks questions to any Organizations that comes under RTI.If used properly it leads to transparency to all the procedures and provisions of Government.

• The average age of India is around 25-26 years,So it is a Young India.These young Indians must stand up against the System for the upliftment of this Country,to fight Corruption.India should have youth coming forward and taking responsibilities on the behalf of this country.I believe in every sector there should be youth involvement.Read more about Youth Power here.

• Salary of Government and PSU Officers must be of market-indexed with their responsibility.This would minimise the ‘need’ for bribes.Their salaries could be benchmarked against corporate sector salaries.But higher salaries should be combined with exemplary punishment,including dismissal from service and a police case if an employee is caught indulging in corrupt practices.

• Use of Technology:-In this Technology era we are lagging behind taking full advantages of the Technology.First and Foremost there should be a law passed on installing CCTV camera on each and every Government office.Regular Inspections of the CCTV Footage.Today almost everyone use a Mobile Phone,so I urge that when we are going to any Government Office we should always keep our Phones in recording mode or if that facility is not available–call someone who can record all the stuff(be sure that you don’t get caught).

• Social Media:-Social media is a boon in recent times.Instead of using it for useless work,try to utilise it for making any corruption related news popular.I am sure within no time it will reach to larger mass.Share your views on sites like I Paid a Bribe.

• Corruption can be reduced by increasing direct contact between government and the governed. In this regard E-Governence can help a lot.It has been implemented carrying out many Government Works but still more needs to be done.

• Whenever you feel cheated never hesitate to visit organisations like Consumer Forums for Consumer Complaints,Banking Ombudsman for Bank related Complaints,Central Vigilance Bureau for any Government related Corruption.

All this for now.I hope this articles help the people of India to gather courage and fight against Corruption.

“The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity—–Frank Serpico”

Corruption

India-Population,Pollution and Corruption-A Solution-Part I

Few Days ago I wrote a post on the 3 issues that India is facing that is Population,Pollution and Corruption.

If you want to check that post here it is

In this post I will try to highlight the possible solutions in tackling these 3 issues if not completely eradicate them.This post is written on the basis of a very insightful comments I received in my previous post from Rachna and Ritesh

India is developing at a rapid pace and it’s development started way back from 1980’s if I am not wrong and still we are developing.India has set 2020 as the target to get tag of Developed Country but the present scenario speaks a very different story of India becoming a developed country by 2020.No,I am not a pessimist and I really want the name of India to be on the developed list but to become a developed country we must first tackle the 3 main issue I mentioned because as for me I sense these 3 issue to be main threat in India’s Development.
So here I provide some possible solutions for these issues and countrymen be with me for making India Developed.

1.Population:-

• First of all there is a law in India to have not more than 2 children for any couples but this law is hardly implemented whereas In China if a couple has more than 1 child it is considered illegal and they have implemented it utmost perfection.
• Eduction-It is one of the most important tool.In India education system is pathetic,it is not able to the reach mass especially the rural population,so I believe it is not only the responsibility of the Government but also the Educated Indians to make them aware about the various issues related to population.
• Use of contraceptive devices.Contraception,while not infallible, drastically reduces fertility rates,often with minimal expense.While contraception and education about using contraception is widely available in rich countries,people in poor countries may not have access to simple contraceptive methods like condoms,or even don’t know what they are.
• Child Adoption should be encouraged.A couple can give birth to one child and if they want they can adopt another,in that way the orphan will get a home and it will also add to controlling population.

In 2009 Health and Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that in order to control population–“If there is electricity in every village,then people will watch TV till late at night and then fall asleep.They won’t get a chance to produce children,” Mr Azad said at the time. “When there is no electricity, there is nothing else to do but produce babies.”

So,I guess the development and education of rural population in India will be very much beneficial in controlling population.

2.Pollution:-As I said in my previous post there are 3 major types of pollution Air,Water and Noise and now Soil pollution is also on the rise.Pollution not only hamper the Environment but also the Human race.

In order to control Air pollution we should make the environment greener and should plant more and more trees.Not only the Government but also the Public must cooperate in this regard.We should minimize the use of Private Vehicles and should use Public Vehicles wherever possible.We should opt for Car Pooling in major cities.Better off,walk or cycle to school!It does wonders to the environment,reduces the amount of air pollution and noise,and makes you fit!The Law on Vehicle Emission and Emission from Industries should be enacted strictly.

For Noise Pollution–Do not use car horns unnecessarily.Areas like hospitals and campuses are silence zones and honking is prohibited there.Avoid loud music,which hurts your ears and others’ ears.Firecrackers are extremely loud, so don’t try and burn them unnecessarily.

To minimize Water Pollution–Sewage should be treated before it is discharged into the river or ocean.This is possible through modern techniques.Modern techniques are widely available but we least make use of it,there should be procedural check before sewage are dispensed into water bodies.Laws should be strictly implemented in this regard.Waste food material,paper,decaying vegetables and plastics should not be thrown into open drains.We Indians have the tendency of not using the Dustbin and throwing households wastages in open drains and water bodies.These should be minimised.Effluents from distilleries, and solid wastes containing organic matter should be sent to biogas plants for generation of energy.Oil slicks in water bodies should be skimmed off from the surface with suction device.Sawdust may be spread over oil slicks to absorb the oil components.Promoting health awareness programmes in localities showing the deadly effects to Water Pollution should be organised.Construction of soundproof rooms for noisy machines in industrial and manufacturing installations must be encouraged.Vegetation (trees) along roads and in residential areas is a good way to reduce noise pollution as they absorb sound.

Soil Pollution–It is defined as the presence of materials in the soil which are harmful to the living beings when they cross their threshold concentration levels.To minimise Soil Pollution we must look for proper ways of Watse Management.This is the job given to Panchayats in villages,municipalities in towns and cities.However,each one of us has to do our bit.Avoid Plastic bags and Polythenes and if used they shuld be recycled effectively and should not be dumped in Soil as they are non-degradable.Use of biodegradable products wherever possible.Use of pesticides and insecticides should be minimised and There should be plantation of trees on large scale.

That’s all for now.In my Next post I will discuss about possible prevention of Corruption.The Information provided here is a mixed bag of Internet Research and My Views.

Over to the Public with a Cartoon Strip… 🙂

*Click on the image for better view…

Population-Pollution Control

Breast Cancer-The Cancer to know About

I am not writing anything new in this post but I had to write this post on whatever knowledge or whatever information I was able to gather from the net and from my personal experience.Recently one of close relative was diagnosed with Tumor which could have led to Breast Cancer.

Now is all fine and undergoing treatment and her tumor has been removed and she is back to normal,though doctors are waiting for her reports to give a final result on the status and further treatment she needs.

According to statistic Breast Cancer is most common type of cancer between Women not only in India but also in other parts of the World.There are an estimated 1,00,000-1,25,000 new breast cancer cases in India every year.And it is one of the fastest spreading disease among women which is expected to double by 2025.Only those who have suffered on gone through this disease know the effect and the mental torture it gives not only to the Patient but also to the family members.Prevention is better that Cure and it is very true,the more we are aware of certain thing the more we are safe.

Breast Cancer as defined by Wikipedia says that Breast cancer is a type of cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk.Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas, while those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas. Breast cancer occurs in humans and other mammals.While the overwhelming majority of human cases occur in women, male breast cancer can also occur.

Moreover the characteristic of Cancer,I mean the stage of Cancer decide the treatment one need to undergo which may include surgery, medications (hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), radiation and/or immunotherapy.

Breast Cancer Symptoms:-

The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass in the breast.In addition,the following are possible signs of breast cancer:

• Nipple discharge or redness
• Breast or nipple pain
• Swelling of part of the breast or dimpling

It is best to detect breast cancer before any of these signs occur by following screening mammography guidelines.You should discuss these or any other findings that concern you with your health care professional.

Breast cancer diagnosis:-

Although breast cancer can be diagnosed by the above signs and symptoms,the use of screening mammography has made it possible to detect many of the cancers early before they cause any symptoms.

The American Cancer Society has the following recommendations for breast cancer screenings:

Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so as long as they are in good health.

“Mammograms are a very good screening tool for breast cancer. As in any test, mammograms have limitations and will miss some cancers. The results of your mammogram, breast exam, and family history should be discussed with your health care professional.”

Women should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of regular health exams by a health care professional about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 years of age and over.

“CBE are an important tool to detect changes in your breasts and also trigger a discussion with your health care professional about early cancer detection and risk factors.”

Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.Women should report any breast changes to their health care professional.

If a woman wishes to do BSE, the technique should be reviewed with her health care professional.The goal is to feel comfortable with the way the woman’s breasts feel and look and, therefore, detect changes.

Women at high risk (greater than 20% lifetime risk) should get an MRI and a mammogram every year.Women at moderate risk (15% to 20%) should talk to their doctor about the benefits and limitations of adding MRI screening to their yearly mammogram.

*All the above data has been taken from here,this website has a very good explanation on Breast Cancer if anyone wish to know more about they can have a look at it..

As per an article on Times of India here is a list of the top foods that prevent breast cancer.

1. Flaxseed
2. Brazil nuts
3. Garlic
4. Pomegranate
5. Dark-green leafy vegetables
6. Salmon
7. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts
8. Green tea
9. Peppers
10. Turmeric
11. Walnuts
12. Berries

Here is the list of 10 things for preventing Breast Cancer:-

1. Avoid becoming overweight.
2. Eat healthy to avoid tipping the scale.
3. Keep physically active.
4. Drink little or no alcohol.
5. Avoid hormone replacement therapy.
6. Consider taking an estrogen-blocking drug.
7. Consider taking the aromatase inhibitor exemestane.
8. Don’t smoke.
9. Breast-feed your babies for as long as possible.

I have provided the most important aspect of Breast Cancer and my post is to be considered as a general reference to Breast Cancer as this post is completely based on my research from the net and interaction with the Doctor who is undertaking the treatment of my Relative.

I hope I have provided the information required for awareness on this disease and this post will act as step in making the society especially the women more conscious about Breast Cancer