BMBS to MSDAC – Crumbling of Railway Systems
A vivid example of how the government news agency was used to mislead, seeing the matter being reversed, is the news published by PTI on English-Hindi news papers and online portals related to MSDAC units. Some officials of RDSO and S&T department working for the #signalling-cartel tried to create sensation not only by falsifying the inspected-tested Multi-Section Digital Axel Counter (MSDAC) but also thereby affecting the credibility of the entire railway system and made suspicious. This shows how badly the consultant-agent-broker-middleman culture has become dominant in the Railways and at the higher level, as if no one is aware of it, or it is all happening under a well-thought-out and directed strategy!
#ET published an alarming report titled, “Faults found in machines installed to detect movement of trains on tracks; 3000 units already in place in 7 zones” on Aug 17 that: “Officials said that around 4,000 units of the ‘faulty’ #MSDAC system have been procured by the Railways at a cost of Rs 5 lakh per unit…” read the above inter-linked report.
#Signalling gear like other #Safety critical systems are not off-the shelf items, they get manufactured to approved Bill of Material, following approved process, in approved work place after thorough multi-year field proving. Every piece is pre-inspected and tested before delivery.
How can 4000 items of #Safety equipment go wrong? There is something which does not meet the eye. It is fact that #signalling department has been in clutches of signalling #vendors, #suppliers and #contractors. We have published series of articles on this #cartel. Readers may see here:
“South Eastern Railway: The ‘Jageer’ of the signalling contractors”
“Pardafash: Corruption in purchase of signalling items – busted”
“Scam continues: Signalling officials openly misusing funds to loot Railways”
“Who is giving protection from the top to signalling contractors to loot the Railways?”
“Who is giving protection from the top to signalling contractors to loot the Railways! Part-2”
“Who is giving protection from the top to signalling contractors to loot the Railways? Part-3”
“Who is influencing the purchase of Signalling items in SER?”
“What will SCAM of thousands crores in purchase of Signalling Equipments cost the govt?”
“Finally exposed the corruption & cartelization in railway signalling department”
“Mr PCSTE/NR: Pls prove that you aren’t a part of the corrupt signalling cartel”
“The competent authority should take immediate action against Cartels”
“Cartel pressurising to releave CSTE/C/SER immediately, are authorities aware?”
“Indian Railway: Contractors making Raining Profits by twisting the Policy in a cartelized manner!”
“CCI fines 7 firms & 10 individuals for rigging bids & cartelisation in Railway’s tenders”
Like other such stories, not every thing would be true in the #ET story. But it is deliberately make as sensational as #Railway’s admission that there was known #deficiency in Bogie Mounted Brake System (#BMBS). These deficiencies have undermined Railway’s #Gatishakti and #Mobility dreams. What is the use of additional lines if #RollingStock can not run fast? Please read here once again-
“बीएमबीएस में ‘जानी-पहचानी विसंगति’ थी, तो यह सिस्टम बीस सालों से लगातार जारी क्यों रहा?”
Answer, as we said is Blowing in the Wind
At the heart of #Railways troubles in lack of #rotation. Extremely long #tenures of officers in a domain, in a place, has allowed unholy friendships with #vendors to be created. This then feeds on itself and these vendors then start to manage #postings and #transfers. These vendors also have deep involvement with #Vigilance as we have extensively published.
Today, #IndianRailways does not even have officers it can #trust for their #integrity, #honesty #capacity and #technical knowledge to handle these problems.
Although there is no dearth of such people in Indian Railways, but they are probably not trusted by the present system, perhaps that is why they are not considered fit for posting on key decision-making positions by keeping them out of the system. The present system probably likes and trusts #corrupt and #manipulators like ED/Tele/#RailwayBoard, ED/QA/Signal/Kolkata, #Ganesh, #RPBharti, #PMSikdar, Bipin Kumar, Jitendra Singh, #NaveenKumar, Ashok Kumar, Kishor Kumar, #RKJha, #RKRai, Dharmendra Kumar, Sudheer Kumar, etc.
What is the reason that #CRB keeps the files of proposed shifting of a corrupt Executive Director by a board member or the proposed posting of senior officers for 12-15 days and returns it without any comment? Before returning the files without any comment, why not he discuss with the concerned board members? Do they doubt the sanity of their counterpart board member, or do they do so in agreement with the concerned officer? Or do they not trust their own conscience? After all, why doesn’t he pay attention to ED/Tele/RB, who has been on the same post for 8-10 years, and also not on ED/QA/Signal/Kolkata, who has been on the same post for 7-8 years and for more than 20 years in Kolkata only?
This is not isolated problem. People are dying as trains are colliding in manner which can not be prevented by much talked about #Kavach also. Also, similarly, trains are climbing platforms and killing people. Read again-
“Kalyug – Now Train Climbs Platform and Kills”
What is the way Ahead?
BMBS, #MSDAC, and #IRMS, and also #DRM‘a 52 year criteria are what are truly monumental failures of Indian Railways which shows that everything that railways tried to do has come unstuck.
Detox of #IndianRailways is requirement number one. This can only happen when #policy of #rotation is implemented very honestly.
-Suresh Tripathi