A fracture in a newly-laid track led to the derailment of the Kachiguda-Bangalore Express near Kurnool today that killed 20 people. Sources said that though the track was laid less than a year ago it was lack of monitoring and maintenance on the part of Railway authorities that resulted in the fracture.This was the third major accident blamed on poor track maintenance in the recent past. Interestingly, the Railway in-charge in all the three cases was the same person, G.M. Singla.In November 1998, the Jammu-Sealdah Express had collided with the derailed Golden Temple Frontier Mail near Khanna in Punjab, killing 250 people, and two years later, 45 passengers died near Sarai Banjara as the Howrah-Amritsar train collided with a derailed goods train.Singla who was Chief Engineer, Northern Railway, when both the accidents happened is the General Manager of South Central Railway — the division under which today’s accident site falls.Singla and his department had been indicted by the Chief Commissioner, Railway Safety, probing the Khanna accident, for lack of maintenance and failing to follow proper monitoring procedures. Later, he was even ‘‘sent on leave’’ by then railway minister Mamata Banerjee when the Sarai Banjara accident happened.In fact, a controversy had erupted over his appointment as the GM of South Central Railway at the time of empanelment itself. Railway’s Personnel Department had raised objections to his empanelment and had returned the list, but Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had sent back the same, ensuring the selection of Singla. He took charge of the South Central Railway in February this year.
