Expressing shock over the death of innocent school children in a ghastly accident at an unmanned railway crossing in Telangana's Medak district today, Loksatta Party President Jayaprakash Narayan said such tragedies should be averted at any cost.
"In this day and age we must not spare any expenditure to ensure safety. Every intersection should be covered by an over-bridge or an underpass and all unmanned level crossings eliminated," he said.
Narayan said the Medak level crossing accident should serve as a wake-up call and prod the Union and State Governments to eliminate all unmanned level crossings as early as possible. The tragedy also highlights the appalling educational infrastructure in the country.
"That poor and middle class families are compelled to send their children to private schools located up to 15km away from their homes at considerable expense is a sad commentary on the prevailing system. Can't the Government liberate our kids from risky and long commutes in their quest for the basic right to education."
Fourteen schoolchildren were killed when a train crashed into their bus at an unmanned railway crossing at Masaipet village in Telangana's Medak district this morning. The bus driver and its cleaner also perished.
