Sunday, July 12, 2009

DELHI METRO BRIDGE COLLAPSE

5 KILLED IN NEW DELHI
METRO BRIDGE COLLAPSE

NEW DELHI (Associated Press) – One section of a concrete bridge being built for the Indian capital's metro rail system collapsed Sunday, crushing to death five workers and injuring 13, officials said. Two of those injured are in serious condition, said Anuj Dayal, the spokesman for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation that is expanding the city's 6-year-old metro rail system. He said three workers died at the accident site and two at the hospital.

The accident happened early Sunday as workers lifted heavy concrete slabs for the bridge, police spokesman Mohammed Iqlaq said. Television footage and photographs showed one long concrete section, which would have carried the tracks, lying at an angle with one end on the ground and the other on top of a supporting pillar. The massive section had crushed metal beams beneath it. Those killed and injured were laborers working on the bridge, Iqlaq said. He said the cause of the accident was not yet known. Rescue crews were still working to see if any others are trapped under the rubble, Iqlaq said.


The efficient metro rail system is the third mass urban transport system in the country and is the pride of New Delhi, a sprawling city of 14 million people and more than 3.2 million vehicles that navigate daily through chaotic traffic. In October last year, two people were killed and at least 11 injured in a similar accident. The metro currently has three lines covering 45 miles (75 kilometers), and authorities are rushing to complete several extensions totaling about 60 miles (100 kilometers) before the October 2010 Commonwealth Games. Sunday's accident occurred near the tony Greater Kailash neighborhood where the southern line is being built.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

This material world is described as padam padam yad vipadām, which means that at every step there is danger. A fool wrongly thinks that he is happy in this material world, but in fact he is not, for one who thinks that way is only illusioned. At every step, at every moment, there is danger. In modern civilization one thinks that if he has a nice home and a nice car his life is perfect.

Therefore if we actually think that this material world is a very happy place, this is our ignorance. Real knowledge is that this material world is full of danger. We may struggle for existence as far as our intelligence allows and may try to take care of ourselves, but unless the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, ultimately saves us from danger, our attempts will be useless.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"
The Srimad Bhagavatam - Purport in Canto 8 - Chapter 2 - Verse 32"

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