EERIE THING AT JHARGRAM - இப்படி எல்லாம் கூட நடக்குமா ? ரயிலையே தூக்கி செல்ல முடியுமா !!!

Dear (s)

I had earlier shared some concerns and some news arising out of Piracy – which is a war like act committed by private parties (not affiliated with any government) that is engaged in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed in other major bodies of water or on a shore. Somalian Pirates continue to be in news - after the biggest seizure of super tanker Sirius Star, the thugs have reportedly captured a yacht with a British man and woman aboard, with the aim of holding them to ransom.

The pirates are no longer wayward thugs and goons – now they run sophisticated operations using the latest hi-tech equipment such as satellite phones and GPS. They are also heavily armed with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s. The pirates are known to receive tip-offs from contacts at ports in the Gulf of Aden. They use speedboats with very powerful outboard motors to approach their target. Sometimes the speedboats are launched from much larger "mother ships" on the high seas. A matter of grave concern for the Shipping industry and to the Insurers, the IMB says there has been an "unprecedented increase" in Somali Pirate activity in the first nine months of 2009. So far, there have been 147 incidents in the waters off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden, compared with 63 for the same period last year. A total of 533 crew members have been taken hostage. The IMB also says the pirates appear to have "extended their reach, threatening not only the Gulf of Aden and east coast of Somalia, but also the southern region of the Red Sea, the Bab el Mandab Straits and the East Coast of Oman".

Whilst some may not have a passing attention to this, here is something back at home which worried all.

Bharatiya Rail (Indian Railways) is one of the largest and busiest rail networks of the World, transporting over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily. It is really an amazing network, traversing the length and breadth of the country covering 6,909 stations over a total route length of more than 63,327 kilometres. From introduction in 1853, IR has come a long way with 16 Zones. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions.

Though there have been some terror activities aimed at disrupting the network and threatening the lives of the commuters, the one that happened to Rajdhani Express on Tuesday (27/10/09) at a nondescript station near Jhargram is absolutely perplexing. This is 155 kms off Kolkatta and closer to Antapani jungle.

Hijacking of aircrafts have been known. But somebody taking control of such a big train with Engine and many bogies and holding passengers to ransom is rather unthinkable but plain truth. In the drama at Banstala in the Jhargram-Kharagpur section, the Maoists and their supporters wrote the script, cocking a snook at the Railways under Mamata Banerjee and the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government and the Odishan Govt on tenter hooks. The Rajdhani Express was intercepted by a 1,500-strong mob at 2.35 pm and its driver and his assistant were taken hostage. Armed men then called the shots, demanding among other things the release of Chhatradhar Mahato of the Maoist-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) — the seizure of the train came a day after the PCAPA announced it would resort to an armed struggle to achieve its goals. After several tension filled hours, at 10.10 pm, the Rajdhani Express finally resumed its journey ending the ordeal of panic stricken relatives of passengers.

This is a national shame and the issue will have political ramifications. This should not be forgotten as days pass by. Those at the helm of affairs need to rein in things and run Govt benefitting the common man.

In Europe, Cereal brand Quaker has begun using electric train services to ship goods from its factory in Cupar, Scotland, to its depot in Lutterworth, Leicestershire as part of move to reduce carbon emissions. Elsewhere France & Italy have inked agreement to link up Alps rail 'motorway' which has been transporting truck-trailer units on low bed rail wagons between France and Turin, a distance of around 175 kms with round trips daily.

With regards - S Sampathkumar.