Bangladesh Railways is a sanctuary of endless irregularities. Behind the development projects worth thousands of crores of taka, the purchase of shiny new coaches, and the glitter of promises, lies the shameless reality of deep corruption, technical ignorance, and extreme passenger harassment.
Recently, the explosive Facebook post of former Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Md. Mahbub Kabir Milon has once again exposed the wounds of the railway sector. This harsh criticism coming from the heart of the administrative bureaucracy has made it clear that it is not a rail service, but rather a safe haven for inefficiency and commission trading.
1. ‘Commission trading’ and money laundering under the guise of mega projects
Major development projects of the railways mean a budget of hundreds of crores of taka. But how much benefit do ordinary passengers get from these mega projects? The former additional secretary directly alleges that in addition to bribery and customer harassment, huge commissions are involved in these projects. Behind the eyes of the common people, these commissions and unethical money are being distributed and even smuggled abroad. Far from development, a festival of looting is basically going on in the name of mega projects.
2. Technical ignorance and lack of supervision by the ministry
Big questions have now been raised about the minimal technical knowledge of the officials who are responsible for managing and supervising the railways.
Speed and track knowledge: There is doubt about how clear the understanding of the ministry officials is about the fundamental difference between running speed and sectional speed.
Quality audit is at zero: Even basic monitoring like auditing the bedding after the launch of a new railway line or measuring the correct thickness of the stones used on the line is missing.
Mysterious disappearance of coaches: Hundreds of coaches are repaired before every Eid by spending crores of taka. After Eid, there is no account of where those crores of taka coaches disappear. The railways have not been able to create any precedent of investigation of any irregularities or corruption and exemplary punishment till date.
3. Conflict of interest: Ministry and department under the same roof
Without regard for administrative transparency and independence, the Ministry of Railways and the Bangladesh Railway Directorate have been housed in the same building. As a result, the transparency and accountability that was supposed to exist between the supervising agency (Ministry) and the implementing agency (Directorate) has completely collapsed. Due to being under the same roof, the culture of irregularities and file suppression has been further strengthened.
4. Rooftop passenger transport: evasion of responsibility or institutional murder?
During Eid or normal times, passengers being transported on the roof of trains is now a regular sight. The former railway secretary has raised three burning questions in this regard—
1. Is the railways solely responsible for taking all the people of the entire country home?
2. Does the railways want to stop transporting passengers on the roof of trains at all?
3. Will the railway authorities take responsibility if a passenger dies after falling from the roof?
If the Railways really wants to stop passengers from climbing on the roof of trains, why is there no strict and flawless administrative action being taken to do so? And if it is made a rule to allow passengers to climb on the roof, then the Railways should take institutional responsibility to provide appropriate compensation to the families of those killed in accidents and provide jobs to their deserving children in the Railways.
5. Minimal service and extreme passenger abuse
The skeletal face of the railway service is revealed when a passenger is seen washing clothes using the train’s water tank! There is not enough water inside the coach, the washroom is dirty, the AC is useless—yet the passenger is being charged a high price for the ticket. This is nothing but direct harassment and fraud of the passenger in the name of service.
Now is the time for strict accountability.
Bangladesh Railways is no longer a service institution, but has become a hotbed of administrative stagnation and corruption. The anger and questions of this former senior government official prove how rotten the internal situation has become. He lamented that if given the opportunity, he would have “tried to do a PhD on Bangladesh Railways”—a scathing satire on the overall mismanagement of the railways.
If strict measures are not taken now to stop the commission business of mega projects, strengthen technical supervision, and stop risky travel on the roof of trains, then this railway will never be able to stand upright even after pouring thousands of crores of taka. When will the authorities wake up?