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Indian Railways make windfall profit, our...!
*** Sense & insensibility --- Over the years, Bangladesh Railway has been running at a loss, relying more on government budget allocation to survive each fiscal. A report says that Bangladesh Railway has lost over Tk. 5 billion ($74 million) in the fiscal year to June 2007 alone. The losses were incurred mostly due to widespread corruption and inefficiency at almost all levels. Theft of valuable railway materials and encroachment of railway land and property is a shameful legacy that continues even today. During the rule of the 4-party alliance allegation of giving away a huge piece of railways property to an NGO created an uproar, which is yet to be settled. ***
THE news even astounded most Indians, just us much as it did many other Asians. India's Railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has turned the tide and unleashed streams of debates across the vast country. His opponents are trying to play it down while his supporters are trying to hype it up with all their might. So, what has he done?
Oh, nothing much! He just made the Indian railways a profitable concern. Is that so? How much profit did it make? One million, two million, ten million Rupees? Well, fasten your seatbelts, here it comes. India's railways have made a Rs. 200 billion ($4.5 billion) profit during the fiscal year 2006-07. How could that happen? Well, according to Indian media, among the measures Lalu took included cutting AC and second class fares, adding 32 new trains, selling train tickets online, and through ATM and even petrol pumps.
Now, does that end your curiosity? Well, before going into details of that phenomenal achievement and listening to some public opinions, let's look at that gigantic network called Indian Railways.
Indian Railways run more than 14,000 passenger and freight trains and carry 15 million people daily — more than the populations of Norway and Sweden
combined With 67,941 miles of tracks, as well as 6,853 stations, the 152-year old train system is one of the largest in the world. Its workforce of 1.5 million also makes it India's single largest employer. (Source: IR website)
While speaking in parliament recently before presenting the rail budget for 2007-08, Lalu Prasad said: "The network aimed at adding 800 additional coaches in popular trains and increasing container traffic five-fold to 100 million tonnes by2011-12." Ayear or two back people would have jeered at him for saying that, but today, with the large figure of 200 billion rupees shining at the backdrop, no one dares to say a word.
No doubt, Lalu Prasad is riding the crest at the moment. About the railways, the Indian press writes: "It was for years synonymous with losses, delays and red tape but has pulled out all the stops to improve."
One online survey recorded people's opinion as to how Lalu Prasad pulled such a big one. Here are some comments: "He introduced new policies, pricing and guidelines. These have helped the Railways prosper. He has even removed some unwanted and unnecessary regulations that existed before. But most impor-
tantly, he has privatised small sections in many areas and given contracts to private firms who increased efficiency. He has even introduced better condition of food and stalls at stations, this encouraged tourists and health conscious people to buy from the railways now, unlike before."
Another person said: "It is due to better utilisation of Information technology. Previously, a number of seats/berths would remain vacant in a number of trains. The manual process of reservation was cumbersome and prone to corruption. With the introduction of computerised reservations, the system of RAC, TATKAL, automatic up-gradation etc., the occupancy rate has increased manifold, and this has resulted in profits. This is only an example. Similar is the case with goods transport, turnaround of wagons etc. The IT has also brought in transparency in procurement decisions, thus bringingdown the costs."
Another voice says: "The contribution of Laluji is that he encouraged the IT people and did not stand in their way. There arc some Indian Railway Service or LAS officers who Laluji trusts in full, who implement all his recommendations. The steps like online reservations, outsourcing
of certain services also have helped in bringing down (he staff costs."
Indian railways to produce electricity!
It seems making windfall profit was not Lalu Prasad s last station where he would get down. Now he is aiming at producing electricity! Indian press writes: "Lalu Prasad, known for his innovative methods and enterprise, announced the setting up of Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited (RBC) at Nabinagar in Bihar as a joint venture with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited."
Speaking on the occasion, Lalu Prasad said: "The Nabinagar power plant, to be built at a cost of Rs.53,52 billion, will have a 1,000 MW capacity. Nearly 18,000 route km, out of more than 63,000 route km of Indian Railways network has already been electrified. The railways are spending about Rs.570 billion per annum on more than 13,000 million units of electricity for traction and nontractionpurposes."
About the need for the plant, Lalu Prasad commented: "This is also the need of the hour, especially in view of the demands of a globalising economy and mega projects of the Indian Railways, such as the planned Dedicated
Freight Corridors across the coun try"
It is reported that electricity from the plant would be utilised by Indian Railways for running electric trains in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
The patal rail (underground rail) in Kolkata has also made-profit and is planning to undertake some expansion and development plans with the money thus earned.
Bangladesh railways...
Bangladesh has more than 20,000 kilometres of paved highway compared with only 2,800 km of railway network, which was inherited from British Indian Railways. It operates 230 passenger trains and 50 freight trains carrying some 42 million passengers and 3.0 million tonnes of cargo annually. The railway employs 35,000 people but handles only about 10 percent of the nation s passenger and freight traffic.
Over the years, Bangladesh Railway has been running at a loss, relying more on government budget allocation to survive each fiscal. A report says that Bangladesh Railway has lost over Tk. 5 billion ($74 million) in the fiscal year to June 2007 alone.
The losses were incurred mostly due to widespread corruption and inefficiency at almost all levels.
Theft of valuable railway materials and encroachment of railway land and property is a shameful legacy that continues even today. During the rule of the 4-party alliance allegation of giving away a huge piece of railways property to an NGO created an uproar, which is yet to be settled.
Then, only the other day, thieves stole 3,500 metal clips from the tracks between Banani
and Cantonment stations About a month back, robbers murdered a railway staff in a running train, before looting the valuables of the passengers. Illegal ferrying of contraband items in passenger trains is a regular feature In many busy routes.
The condition of compartments, lights, toilets, seats and passenger service hardly encourage people to opt for train ride over bus rides on long-distance routes. While bus services arc improving considerably on such routes, train services are falling behind day by day.
But we believe there is no reason why Bangladesh railway cannot be turned into a profitable concern now that a number of good bridges have been added to the communication network. To achieve the target, the condition of the tracks, number of compartments, signaling system, maintenance of stations and passenger services must improve. Ticket booking system and availability of tickets have to be made foolproof.
We believe there are plans to privatise the state-owned railway as part of reforms suggested by the country's major development partners, including the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
The privatisation work is expected to be completed by 2012. The project would be implemented to develop the railway system across the country. ADB, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and the World Bank are likely to provide a total of $430 million to support the govern ment's railway reform program.
All said and done, we want our politicians and bureaucrats to work together to make the railways a viable, profitable sector.
Shahnoor WaM is a Server Assistant Editor of The Daiy Star