Soroor Ahmed and Amarnath Tewary both I guess are from Bihar and see how they report two different bihar related stories...Amarnath ji in past also have been very very neagtive on the state, not sure what saddistic pleasure he gets on that..I am ready to debate with him on Journalism ethics and responsibilities..
Dear Bihari Brothers rise and fight your own war, do not allow any one demonize you... Story # 1 Stop this so-called de-Biharization of Railways in the name of anti-Laluism - Soroor Ahmed (Bihar Times)Within a week of the publication of two letters to editor in a premier English language daily of Kolkata demanding the de-Biharization of the Indian Railways the East Central Railway announced the cancellation of stoppages of trains at several stations and halts in Bihar. It might be that the top brass of the Railways not have read the letters. But what is really shocking is the appearance of letters using such an objectionable expression in a prestigious daily. Can a newspaper publish anything trash or use any word against the people of any state? The letters and the Railways' action are pointer to the general anti-Bihari sentiment nursed by some people for no valid reasons. Now come to the fact. New Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express was not extended up to Rajgir when Lalu Yadav was the railway minister. The credit should go to his predecessor, Nitish Kumar. It does not only stop at Khusrupur but even at Silao, Nalanda, Harnaut and a couple of other small stations--not to speak of Bakhtiarpur and Biharsharif. And then what is wrong in the train stopping at Khusrupur, where no doubt much larger number of people board and detrain, then several other stations on this very route. No one can justify the ransacking of railway stations, torching of trains and destruction of the public property after the railways' announcement regarding the cancellation of stoppage of Shramjeevi Express at Khusrupur. But may one ask a question: Was not there any other step for the railways to take immediately after it got rid of three almost consecutive railway ministers from Bihar--Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav. For a few months in between Mamta Banerjee (1999-2001) did serve as the railway minister during the Vajpayee era. Some of the halts may have been unviable, but certainly not Khusrupur, where several other Express trains have been stopping for the last many years--even before the so-called Biharization of railway. The Railways could easily have cancelled those economically unviable halts gradually after a few months--not just after getting rid of Bihari railway ministers. The quick and thoughtless decision only shows that there are a section of officers who nurse anti-Bihari feeling or are totally immature and can not see beyond their nose. Within days of Mamata Banerjee taking over as the railway minister, rumours started spreading among the railway employees that Dhanbad division, one of the top most revenuer-earners in the country, would not remain with the Hajipur-based East Central Railway, but will go back to Kolkata-based Eastern Railway. There is also unconfirmed reports that some of the ongoing projects in Bihar may be halted and services on some routes withdrawn. What is it to celebrate all about? It is not that some territory has been won back from the enemy. In Bihar no newspaper can publish any letter questioning the economic viability of railway halts after every one and one-half kilometres in Greater Kolkata or Greater Mumbai region. Can we ask these Bengalese or Maharashtrian to walk an extra kilometre or two to catch the EMUs? But these railway officials can certainly get fantastic stories planted in the newspapers in Bihar that in the last six months 81 halts have come up in the state. If they are genuine what is wrong with them? If new trains have been introduced in the newly laid down tracks--for example till Jogbani and Jayanagar, or between Sasaram and Bikramganj--in the last few months new railway stations and halts would naturally come up. Are the trains meant to carry ghosts or passengers? One may not justify or defend all the steps taken by Lalu Yadav or his predecessors Nitish and Ram Vilas Paswan as the railway ministers but in the name of anti-Laluism the interest of Bihar must not be harmed. Mind it, it is the same Mamata Banerjee, who strongly opposed the creation of the East Central Railway at Hajipur while still a minister in the Vajpayee cabinet. She got support of the arch-rival, the Left, in her state. The Bihari politicians also closed their ranks and the state assembly then unanimously passed a resolution in its favour. Story # 2 Driver 'dozes off' on India train By Amarnath Tewary in Patna Millions of passengers travel by trains in India daily A passenger train in the Indian state of Bihar zoomed past two railway stations - apparently after the driver fell asleep at the controls. Those on board say the driver stopped only after some of the panic-stricken passengers managed to wake him up. Following protests by angry passengers, he then reversed the train to return to the stations he had missed. The driver and the guard of the train have been suspended and an inquiry has been ordered, a railway official said. 'Out of proportion' The incident is alleged to have occurred after the Jogbani-Katihar express left Forbesganj railway station in Bihar on Monday. We sounded the alarm and began to shout - only then did the driver wake up Passenger Vivek Thakur It zoomed past its first scheduled halt at Dholbazza, railway officials said. Passengers then panicked when the train also missed its next stop of Pothia railway station in Kishanganj. When some of the passengers managed to reach the engine, they apparently found the driver snoring away. "We sounded the alarm and began to shout - only then did the driver wake up," passenger Vivek Thakur was quoted by a local newspaper as saying. The driver then reversed to stations he had missed. "We have been informed that the driver concerned drove past some local stations in a state of sleep. These are lapses which cannot be tolerated at any cost," Babulal Gaekwad, the divisional railway manager of the North-east Frontier Railway told the BBC. Passengers waiting to board the train at the two railway stations had a miraculous escape as some of them were standing close to the tracks to get into the crammed train compartments. Some even sustained minor bruises. A senior railway official, Gopal Kumar, told the BBC that the driver and the guard of the train had been suspended and an inquiry had been ordered. Mr Kumar admitted that the train had missed stops and had to retrace its route, but described it as "a small incident blown out of proportion". "Let the inquiry be completed and only then will we be able to say whether the driver fell asleep or not." Protests Railway officials at the station initially thought the authorities might have decided to reschedule the train stops under the new railways minister and some angry passengers began to protest. On Monday, angry villagers set fire to two trains in Bihar and ransacked a railway station in protest at a decision not to stop some trains at remote stations. The decision was later reversed. State-owned Indian railways is an immense network connecting every corner of the vast country. One of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, it operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries 18 million passengers every day. Sharad Comments: Mr Amarnath Ji, during my abhi tak ka 10 years stay in USA, I have been travelling for last 6 years every week with states and abroad so I know better than any on on the USA flights situation and in this country where standards are really high on passenger security many time pilots have been reported sleeping during the flight...Please check the record...so to demonize my dear state as you have been doing always is in real poor taste and total lack of respect for 8 plus crore Biharis... Regards, Apka SHARAD MOHAN USA, NJ
