Odisha Train Tragedy: The triple train accident in Odisha has left the nation shocked as it claimed over 250 lives, and injured almost 1,000. The incident poses a serious question to the railway's safety management system which is supposed to prevent mishaps like this. People are still searching for their relatives as over a hundred bodies remain unidentified.
Here Are Key Developments So Far
Rinkesh Roy, Divisional Railway Manager, East Coast Railway said that a CBI team has reached the accident site in Balasore and an inquiry is being done.
According to ANI, at least 275 died and over 1000 individuals were injured. As per officials, there are 101 bodies that are yet to be identified.
Train services are back to normal at the Bahanaga Railway station in Odisha’s Balasore where the deadly train accident took place on June 2.
Talking to ANI, Divisional Railway Manager of the Eastern Central Railways Rinkesh Roy said that around 200 people are still being treated in various hospitals in Odisha. He added that about 900 people were discharged after treatment.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Vijay Amrit Kulange told ANI, "Of the total 193 bodies kept in Bhubaneswar, 80 bodies have been identified. 55 bodies have been handed over to the relatives. More than 200 calls have been received on BMC's helpline number 1929. The dead bodies are being identified and handed over to the relatives."
Meanwhile, according to ANI, West Bengal leader of the opposition and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the accident was TMC’s conspiracy. Slamming the TMC, Adhikari said, "This incident is TMC's conspiracy. Why have they been panicking so much since yesterday when this incident is of another state? Why are they afraid of CBI investigation? These people with the help of the police tapped the phones of both the railway officials. How did these people know the conversation between two railway officials? How the conversation got leaked."
As per ANI, Suvendu Adhikari further said that how did TMC access the phone call should also be investigated by the CBI else he will go to court. The response came over an alleged audio clip of a conversation between two railway officials, which TMC leader Kunal Ghosh tweeted last Sunday, as per HT.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the Balasore accident site. He also visited the injured being treated at the hospital. Before leaving Delhi, PM Modi also chaired a high-level review meeting on the same.
The tragic accident occurred when the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express collided with a stationery goods train, causing several coaches to derail onto the adjacent track. As a result, the Howrah Express, traveling from Yesvantpur to Howrah, collided with the affected carriages at high speed, resulting in further derailment.
Meanwhile, the Railways has initiated a week-long nationwide safety campaign focusing on the signaling systems, especially the "double locking" feature, following the transfer of the investigation of the Odisha train accident to the Central Bureau of Investigation within a day, Indian Express reported. The relay rooms and locations where the signaling equipment can be managed use a dual-locking system that requires both the station master and the signaling staff to unlock it.
The railways said that the Coromandel Express did not exceed speed limits and received the green signal to enter a loop line on which a goods train was stationary, effectively absolving its driver of any involvement in the accident, news agency PTI reported. They described the operation of the interlocking system, which appeared to be a contributing factor to the accident.
A railway official said: "Green signal means that in every way the driver knows that his path ahead is clear and he can go forward with his permitted maximum speed. The permitted speed at this section was 130 kmph and he was running his train at 128 kmph which we have confirmed from loco logs. Only one train was involved in the accident, it was the Coromandel Express. The Coromandel Express crashed with the goods train and its coaches went on top of the goods train. It was an iron ore-laden train, a heavy train, therefore the entire impact of the collision was on the train."
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced free bus service to Kolkata from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack till the restoration of normal train services on the Balasore route. Around 50 buses will operate daily to provide transport facility to Kolkata, said the state government in a statement.
Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakhs in case of death and Rs 2 lakhs for those grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries as he rushed to Odisha, the state he represents in Rajya Sabha.
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