NEW DELHI, July 18: At least two people were killed and 20 others injured following derailment of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express and eight coaches overturned in Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, the UP deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said.
The railways later gave the death toll in the accident as two while eight others were injured. The cause of the accident is being ascertained. Two trains have been cancelled and 11 trains diverted due to the accident.
“Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh around 2.35 p.m.,” railways officials said. A 40-member medical team and 15 ambulances are at the spot and more medical teams and ambulances are being rushed there, said UP Relief Commissioner G.S. Naveen Kumar.
“Train number 15904 Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express that left Wednesday night from Chandigarh derailed near Gonda Junction station between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations at around 2.37 p.m. on Thursday under the jurisdiction of North Eastern Railway (NER),” Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, said.
Gonda District Magistrate Neha Sharma, who reached the accident spot, said eight coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express got derailed, adding that the injured are being rushed to hospital and relief operations are on at the site.
The loco pilot of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express reportedly heard a loud explosion before multiple coaches derailed in Gonda on Thursday evening, Railway Ministry officials have stated in preliminary information.
Visuals from the site showed passengers standing around helplessly. “I had a close shave, glad to be safe. Don’t worry I am fine,” a passenger who survived said. Videos from the site showed people taking their luggage from derailed coaches. One coach had flipped, on which some passengers were standing.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered and compensation – ₹ 10 lakh to the families of those who died, ₹ 2.5 lakh to those with serious injuries, and ₹ 50,000 for those with minor injuries – is to be given.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his UP counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, have been briefed. “Himanta Biswa has been briefed… and Government of Assam is in touch with relevant authorities,” the Assam Chief Minister’s office said. Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath’s office said officials at the site had been told to take the injured to hospitals and provide them with proper treatment.
The issue has also taken a political twist with the Congress calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to take responsibility for this and recent accidents and resign. “PM and his Railway Minister, who leaves no opportunity for self-publicity, must take direct responsibility of the massive lapses that have plagued the Indian Railways,” Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge said.
The Trinamool Congress has blamed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the derailment of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express. While the party’s Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sushmita Dev said the railways, which serves as the primary mode of travel for millions, is no longer safe, TMC Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra commented that the railways appeared to have entered an “emergency room” phase after 10 years of the Narendra Modi government.
Offering her condolences to the bereaved families and expressing solidarity with the injured, Ms Dev said, “Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the blue-eyed boy of @PMOIndia, is costing us lives!” Echoing Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Sushmita Dev, Mahua Moitra said, “Another derailment in UP. Shame @AshwiniVaishnaw – Indian Railways in Emergency room after 10 years of Jumla Sarkar.” Ms Moitra emphasised the urgent need for safety measures, advocating for the immediate installation of the automated train collision avoidance system (KAVACH) across all railway routes.
(Manas Dasgupta)
