Part 4.
Also lying, like leviathans in mortal combat, were the trains. The authorities took all of three days to clear up the mess. Railway Minister Nitish Kumar arrived at 3 p.m., but the cranes that were to clear the debris came only at night. Kumar faced a livid crowd at Gaisal. He had seen enough in an hour and on his return to Delhi said he would resign, claiming "moral responsibility". Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, who initially tried to dissuade him, later accepted the resignation. But the crucial question remained: who was responsible?
The...
more... Commissioner of Railway Safety, N. Mani, has been given the job of finding the answer to that question. But even at the site of the disaster, Rajendra Nath, general manager, North-East Frontier Railway, who was later asked to go on leave, said the trains "could have been put on the same track at an earlier station". Nath was probably revealing less than he already knew because an inquiry was pending. But it was clear a series of lapses starting at Kishanganj, 19 km away from the crash site, led to the tragedy. It was also plain human failure.
#Continued...