Naxalites blow up South Eastern railway tracks; Mamata calls in railway disaster management team for Park Street
Chronic neglect fed the flames as history burned on Tuesday, shrouding the city's iconic Park Street in a grim sheet of smoke. The uppermost floors of Stephen Court — a dominating century-old mansion that houses gastronomic institutions such as Flurys and Peter Cat amongst others — burned for hours as over forty fire tenders struggled to contain the situation.
Below the burning bedlam, thousands crowded around ambulances, fire trucks and rescue workers, as the police seemingly failed to realise the need for security cordon for almost three hours after the fire broke out late afternoon.
Amidst aghast pedestrians, the heart Kolkata's cultural mile was steadily converted to facilitate a war-like operation. Six people died as a result, but the toll could rise.
Railway minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who arrived at the crossroad before Stephen Court, fumed as the flames refused to die down. “The state government does not have a disaster management team. Since I am here I have asked the railway disaster management team from Howrah and Sealdah to come and assist the trapped people,” she said, as dusk began to fall.
But from late on Monday, another war had been revived with assaults of a different kind. Three explosions, during a four-hour nighttime window, on the tracks of South Eastern Railway had led to the cancellation of one train, diversion of eight trains and termination of four trains.
The onslaught, purportedly by Naxalites partaking in the 48-hour lock down across seven states, is part of the greater strategy that the Ultra-Left rebels have adopted.
In recent months, the Railways has repeatedly been assailed, prompting damage control reactions.
Last October, the Naxals successfully hijacked the Bhubaneswar-Rajdhani Express between Kharagpur and Jhargram stations, and passengers were stranded in the dark as security forces struggled to reach the spot.
More than once, Banerjee has been rebuked by her colleagues in the Parliament for paying inordinate attention to West Bengal. But while being critical of the state government's insufficiencies, there may be some truth in the allegation that Banerjee is putting politics before her portfolio.
