May 30, 2014

The use and misuse of the railway land

Indian railway possess a vast stretch of land across the length and breadth of the country. In UP criminals dispose of the dead bodies of their victims at the border of two districts, two states, or even  along the Nepal border. In this way there is confusion about the juridiction of the Police station. Thus there is delay in pursuing the case. Similarly the railway tracts are also put to a similar use in order to create confusion amongst the already inefficient police forces of the various regions of the country. Railway police and the local police try to rest the responsibility on each other if there is any dead body found on the railway tracts.
India is a poor nation and a large number of its urban population does not have a toilet. Defecating at any other place in the city can create a trouble for the poor people. The land along the railway tract is a kind of no man's zone and is, therefore,  used as an open toilet by them.
Other than the dark winter days a shed or a roof is sufficient for providing shelter to the homeless. Therefore all the railway stations of the country serve as a 'Raen Basera' (night time shelter) for the homeless destitutes. In winters, if a bonfire is lit on the platform, it gives a snuggly and homely feeling to the poor. About three decades ago the government started charging platform ticket for those who come to receive or see of their near ones at the station. This ticket created a trouble for the homeless. With passage of time the platform ticket is normally bought only at the railway stations of the big cities. Since Jagraon is a small town no one cares for the platform ticket. The railway platform is extensively used by the people for their morning and the evening walks. One straight walk up and down the platform is easily above one kilometer. Where else would one find such neat and fresh environment in the town?
In the country side the land along the tracts is encroached by the farmers for the purpose of cultivation. This of course is not without greasing the palms of the officials just like the way it is allegedly done along the Indo-Pak border. Thus hundreds of acres of fertile land gets converted into illegal wealth. It is said that at Chonkiman village of Jagraon there is a chunk of land to the tune of one hundred acres that belongs to the government of India. It is meant for building a railway station specially for the good trains for porting food grains of the FCI. As per the allegation of the local population this land is cultivated illegally. Presently the special good trains get loaded at Jagraon. The trucks that line up for loading choke the Mandi road which is like a vital artery of the town. The shifting of the loading place from Jagraon to Chonkiman would mean a loss to the illegal beneficieries. Therefore the chances are bleak that the government authorities would ever take an initiative to shift the loading site from Jagraon to Chonkiman. It seems that the people of the town would only have to keep gasping for breath due to this criminal inefficiency of the system.