The news of an unfortunate accident from kurnool in Andhra Pradesh is disturbing and needs to be seen with various reports coming from the state of Bihar bound trains over the week.
The inadequacy of public transport is a central concern of our country and its economy. Transport along with food and shelter are the fundamental requirements of subsistence in any modern society.
Of these food and shelter, are largely privately provided, but transportation is too expensive to be left for private provisioning and is a major welfare subject. More so in a poor and unequal society like ours.
Universally accessible and affordable transportation is essential for creating opportunities and enabling social mobility. In this aspect it’s an important barrier like education.
Expensive and unsafe transportation restricts freedom and affects marginalized sections like women, disabled and poor disproportionately.
The kurnool incident highlights the lax enforcement and regulation of safety protocols in automobile design, especially through retrofitting and redesign. We have the highest road traffic fatalities in the world and much of it is attributable to poor road conditions and design.
The recent trend of exorbitant tolls on highways have severely restricted their access to the marginalized sections. There has been virtually zero growth in railway passenger capacity over the last decade. For a country which is rapidly urbanizing and an economy aiming for double digit growth, this is a serious limitation.
The indignation that these train travels heap upon the poor passengers, affect their self image, confidence and productivity. The government must take provision of affordable and reliable transportation seriously.
