Maoist Menace

A blast on the rail track near Gaya in Bihar almost ended up in a disaster, when seven coaches of the Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani express derailed 22 Mar. Media furore was limited only because there were no casualties. Had there been some, all TV channels would have been vying with each other to find faults in our governance with a slew of experts from treasury and opposition benches trading charges against each other.

The vast expanse of our rail tracks, prevents railway authorities from patrolling the tracks or carrying out inspections frequently enough to prevent sabotage altogether. There have been numerous such incidents over the past six months. But fortunately no serious damage to life or property has occurred. It is however, only a matter of time, before some calamity befalls, Indian railways which would jolt Govt agencies out of their slumber and force them to take serious prophylactic measures to prevent such acts by Maoists. It is a tall order, tackling Maoists as has been shown by Maoists in Nepal. Unless some concretes steps are taken right away, we are likely to get embroiled in the most serious internal security challenge in History. More we delay, the more difficult it is going to get. Are Ms Mamata Banerjee and Mr P Chidambaram up to the challenge?

Also read : http://maverickindianmusings.blogspot.com/2010/02/terror-from-within-and-without_22.html