M A I N   N E W S

Sabotage not ruled out: Mamata

MIDNAPORE (WB), Dec 2 (PTI) — Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today did not rule out sabotage in the train accident at Sarai Banjara in Punjab involving Howrah-Amritsar Mail and a derailed goods train and said she would press for a CBI inquiry.

“There may be sabotage behind the accident. We will see to it,” Ms Banerjee told reporters at Cherua village, about 8 km from here.

She said she was in constant touch with the railway authorities carrying out rescue operations at the site.

All deceased and injured persons would be given compensation, she said.

Ms Banerjee cut short her political programme in the trouble-torn Midnapore district in order to go to the accident site.

A statutory inquiry into the cause of the accident has been ordered by the Railway Minister.

Meanwhile, special inquiry counters were opened at Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Dhanbad, Patna and Mughalsarai rail stations to provide information regarding the accident, Eastern Railway sources said at Calcutta.

The telephone numbers of the special inquiry counter of Howrah station are 660-1416 and 660-6142, while those of Sealdah station are 350-3535 and 350-3537, they added. 

Trains cancelled, diverted
Tribune News Service

AMBALA, Dec 2 — The train accident near Rajpura in Patiala between Sadhugarh and Sarai Banjara has thrown rail traffic out of gear in Ambala Division with several trains being cancelled or diverted.

A railway official said the trains which had been cancelled were 1 USN, Ambala-Nangal dam, 1 UL and 3 UL Ambala-Ludhiana and 334 and 333 passenger train from Amritsar to Ambala.

Several trains had been diverted on the main line leading to delays. The trains diverted via Rajpura, Dhuri and Ludhiana were 3049 Howrah Amritsar Express, 5707 Kaithal -Amritsar Amrapali, 2471 Swaraj Express and 5097 Barauni Jammu. The trains diverted from Delhi via Jakhal and Ludhiana were 2029 Swaran Shatabadi from New Delhi to Amritsar, 2497 Shaan-e-Punjab, 3967 Malwa Express and 2925 Paschim Express.

The down trains diverted via Ludhiana and Dhuri were 2014 Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabadi, 4660 Amritsar-New Delhi Express, Jhelum and 4682 Jalandhar-New Delhi Express. The trains diverted via Dhuri, Rajpura and Ambala were 5210 Jansewa, 5708 Amarpali, 2926 Paschim, 9368 Malwa and 4648 Flying Mail. 

Villagers rise to the occasion
Officialdom prepares for VIPs
Tribune News Service

JEEWANPUR (Fatehgarh Sahib), Dec 2 — The indomitable spirit of the Punjabis came to the fore in this small village here today with men and women surmounting immense odds to rescue those trapped in the mangled coaches of Howrah Express which had rammed into capsized coaches of a goods train lying on its track this morning.

People of this village and neighbouring villages of Shahpur and Chandumajra rushed to the accident site within minutes of the collision . They needed little to launch the rescue operation .

Villagers used ladders or else made a pyramid to get to the top of the coaches and reach general class coach which had been literally sliced into half by a parcel van of Howrah Express. Once inside, they formed a human chain and began extricating the dead and the injured. Officialdom, during this time, was getting ready to tackle a crowd of curious onlookers as well as prepare for a string of high-profile visitors.

The first gas cutter arrived at around 9 a.m. from a nearby town three hours after the incident. The fire engine arrived at around 10 a.m., even though its ladders could have been a great help earlier. Police commandos, who had arrived at the site a few hours after the incident, stood at the spot doing nothing even as villagers continued the rescue work. By the time police officials announced at 10.30 a.m. that the stranded passengers would be given transportation for their onward journey, had been well taken care of by the villagers.

Dharmender Singh, the sarpanch of this village, who was in the forefront of the rescue effort talking to this correspondent with his clothes stained with blood, said the villagers heard the sound of coach derailed around 5.30 a.m. and then a subsequent noise of collision 10 minutes later.

“When we came closer to the accident site we heard shrieks of the injured and also saw many of those not affected by the accident swarming down the mangled coaches as well as those which were not effected by the accident”.

Dharmender Singh said he immediately got an announcement made in the local gurdwara about the accident and requested all able-bodied men to rush to the site. Similar announcements were made from the gurdwaras of the nearby Shahpur and Chandumajra villages. ‘’Ten of us started the rescue work. Soon we were joined by others and we formed a human chain”.

He and others like Sadha Singh of Chandumajra arranged for tractor trailers for those stranded so that they could be transported to the G. T. road from where buses and trucks were stopped to take them to their onward destination. “Langar’’ was held in the morning by the women of the village and shell-shocked passengers offered tea and snacks.

By 9 a.m. when a posse of policemen and medical staff reached the accident site, more than 80 per cent of those injured in the accident had been extricated by the villagers. The volunteers assisted the gas cutters and continued the rescue work till 3 p.m.

The heroic efforts by the people of this village were recognised by the Punjab Governor as well as the Chief Minister, with the latter announcing a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the development of the village as reward.