Odisha train tragedy: Congress, Twitterati question absence of 'Kavach' system after deadly accident

Odisha train tragedy: Congress, Twitterati question absence of 'Kavach' system after deadly accident

One aspect that is the topic of discussion on Twitter is 'Kavach' system. According to the government, Kavach is a train collision avoidance system, which was put in place to prevent accidents due to human error. However, the limited coverage and availability of Kavach only on specific route raise questions on the comprehensiveness of the system.

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Saturday, June 03, 2023, 01:51 PM IST
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Representative Image | Indian Railways

The tragic train accident in the Balasore district of Odisha involving three trains on Friday evening has sent shockwaves across the country. Over 250 people were declared dead and more than 900 sustained serious injuries, in the last count. According to the latest update, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already left for Odisha to visit the accident spot and review the mishap place. However, one aspect that is the topic of discussion on Twitter is 'Kavach' system. According to the government release, Kavach is a train collision avoidance system, which was put in place to prevent accidents due to human error. The Congress and Twitterati took to the micro-blogging site to question the absence of the system on the accident route.

As per Amitabh Sharma, the Railways Spokesperson, the Kavach route is specific and Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Bombay (Mumbai) routes only have the installation process started for Kavach.

Videos are being shared on Twitter of the Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav describing how the Kavach system would prevent collisions on railway tracks.

"Was that just a publicity stunt like other PR exercises of the current government," tweeted the Congress Sevadal handle.

"The Kavach - anti collision system, which could have avoided this - is not deployed on this route. Work began in 2012. But it still is available to limited number of routes and locos. Maybe the top priority should be the deployment of this," tweeted a user.

The magnitude of the train mishap and the inability to avoid it was also brought up.

The Kavach system was introduced in the year 2012 and received a big push by the government in last year's budget. The trial of the Kavach system was attended by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in March, 2022. "As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, 2,000 km of network will be brought under Kavach for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23," read the government release at the time of the system's trial by Vaishnaw.

β€˜Kavach’ was also described as one of the cheapest, safety integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) certified technologies. However, the goal of covering larger route under the system has yet not been achieved and the tragic Odisha train accident will raise the demand for the system to be operational on as many routes as possible and at the earliest.

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