Solution’s simple, where’s the will?
Ever since a high-level committee appointed by the Indian Railways to look into safety recently revealed that 40% of India’s railway fatalities occur in Mumbai, the spotlight has been firmly on the city’s suburban network. On Tuesday, a senior government railway police officer formally admitted what we have known all along, that private hospitals do not take in rail accident victims without the mandatory deposit being paid, and that the government and local railway authorities have not moved on a formal tie-up with these hospitals.
This is one of the two main reasons for the frighteningly high number of rail accident fatalities on Mumbai’s tracks, the other being the lack of a dedicated ambulance service. While a dedicated ambulance service — or even some form of innovative hospital-on-wheels — may take time to implement, all it would take for a formal tie-up between the government and private hospitals is a few signatures. That this hasn’t happened till now is galling, considering that the railway police have drawn up a list of hospitals along the entire stretch of the suburban routes, and are waiting only for the official go-ahead.
There has been no dearth of officials at various levels who have tried to contribute in some small manner, like former railway police commissioner Suresh Khopade, who is now trying to set up teams of hawkers, shoe-shine boys, vendors and porters to try and use the crucial ‘golden hour’ to save accident victims. But despite such well-meaning officials, the problem is of daunting magnitude and requires a well-oiled system in place. Such a system can only come through government intervention. The government must act now, unless it wants still more blood on its hands.
Ever since a high-level committee appointed by the Indian Railways to look into safety recently revealed that 40% of India’s railway fatalities occur in Mumbai, the spotlight has been firmly on the city’s suburban network. On Tuesday, a senior government railway police officer formally admitted what we have known all along, that private hospitals do not take in rail accident victims without the mandatory deposit being paid, and that the government and local railway authorities have not moved on a formal tie-up with these hospitals.
This is one of the two main reasons for the frighteningly high number of rail accident fatalities on Mumbai’s tracks, the other being the lack of a dedicated ambulance service. While a dedicated ambulance service — or even some form of innovative hospital-on-wheels — may take time to implement, all it would take for a formal tie-up between the government and private hospitals is a few signatures. That this hasn’t happened till now is galling, considering that the railway police have drawn up a list of hospitals along the entire stretch of the suburban routes, and are waiting only for the official go-ahead.
There has been no dearth of officials at various levels who have tried to contribute in some small manner, like former railway police commissioner Suresh Khopade, who is now trying to set up teams of hawkers, shoe-shine boys, vendors and porters to try and use the crucial ‘golden hour’ to save accident victims. But despite such well-meaning officials, the problem is of daunting magnitude and requires a well-oiled system in place. Such a system can only come through government intervention. The government must act now, unless it wants still more blood on its hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment