Blood on the Tracks
While the Railways and civic authorities play innocent and wag fingers at each other, what lessons can we learn from the disaster?
It was a tragedy waiting to happen. Dhobi Ghat, a small municipal ground not far from the railway station in Amritsar, where an Indian Railways DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) ploughed through a crowd killing 59 people and grievously injuring 143, on October 19, has been the site of Dussehra celebrations for years. The ritual slaying of Ravana was to be a particularly 'grand' event this year with the Punjab tourism and local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and wife Navjot Kaur listed as chief guests. The organisers, local area councillor Vijay Madan and her son Sourabh Madan-had informed the city police that
