8,000 more Ansar-VDP men to guard railway

Bangladesh Railways has beefed up railway security with deployment of more than 8,000 additional Ansar-VDP men as trains are coming under sabotage amid the opposition-enforced nonstop road-rail-waterway blockade.
Train schedules virtually broke down and services on some routes faced disruption as blockaders removed fishplates from rail was tracks, set fire to trains and railway lines and put up barricades on tracks at different places across the country.
"A total of 8,328 Ansar and VDP men, in addition to the already-deployed ones, began duty this evening (Monday) to protect the most popular and cheapest transport from violence during the ongoing blockade programme," Officer-in-Charge of Kamalapur Railway Police Station Abdul Mazid told the FE on phone.
He said the additional security men from the twin auxiliary forces were positioned at 1,044 vulnerable points to ensure security of the railways, which often came under subversive acts by the blockade pickets.
The urgency of security reinforcement comes into spotlight following the latest spate of violent attacks on this only alternative and safe mode of long-route transportation for passengers during programmes like general strike and blockade.
When contacted, stationmaster of Kulaura Railway Station Shamsul Alam appreciated the move, saying that it would help ensure security on the railways as "troublemakers targeted the transport again like the pre-election violence in December, 2013".
He said at least 50 passengers were injured as five carriages and locomotive of a train bound for Chittagong derailed at Kulaura of Moulvibazar after saboteurs removed fishplates there last week.
On the same day, rail communications in the western zone were disrupted for four hours after pickets uprooted lines in Joypurhat, he added.
Following the incident, the railway has been put on high alert to prevent subversive activities, according to the BR officials.
Transportation Officer of Bangladesh Railway (Dhaka Division) Nazmul Islam said the blockaders target the transport as people from all over the country travel to different destinations on emergencies through rail for frequent outbreaks of violence on the highways.
 "Even, city-dwellers preferred the transportation mode during such crisis moment as railway witnessed massive rush of passengers during the blockade," he said. Such acts of violence, he adds, cost the BR high.   
Contacted for his view of the situation, Railways Minister Mazibul Hoque said Bangladesh Railway suffered damages amounting to nearly Tk 360 million in the recent spate of violence let loose by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
 "We'll do everything to make the rail journey safer," the minister added.
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