Mumbai Mail derailment: Families throng Hwh, Kgp stns for updates
Times of India | 31 July 2024
12 Kolkata/Kharagpur: Family members thronged Howrah and Kharagpur stations, anxious to find out the status of their relatives travelling on the Howrah-CSMT Mumbai Mail that derailed in Jharkhand early on Tuesday. Unable to reach their relatives, families were seen crowding around railway officials, hoping for updates. Those who could not travel to the stations, called the helpline numbers, requesting officials to inform them as soon as they received any news.
The moment he heard the derailment news, Munir Mullick from Jamalapur village in Burdwan set off for Howrah station as he failed to establish contact with his elder brother, Abul Mullick.“Everybody is worried at home. We have not been able to speak to him,” said Munir. The railway officials traced Abul to a hospital in Ranchi. “He had a small injury on his chin but he is fine. He lost his phone,” a railway official told Munir, much to his relief.
Tanmay Pramanik of Bahadur Para in Hooghly’s Chandipara had gone to Howrah station to see off his brother-in-law, sending toys and sweets for his niece and sister in Mumbai. “There was a call on my mobile early in the morning. A co-passenger informed me about the accident and said my brother-in-law was injured and taken to a hospital in Ranchi. It was nightmarish,” said Pramanik, who called up the Howrah station helpdesk. Railway officials called him up later to say the brother-in-law had been put on a special train to Mumbai. “He suffered injuries but decided to go to his family in Mumbai,” he said.
Ahmed Raza from Sankrail reached Howrah station even as the helpdesk by South Eastern Railway was being set up. “We have not been able to reach my uncle,” said Raza. While he waited at the station, his uncle, Saheb Alam, called him. “His phone was damaged and he used a co-passenger’s phone. He is fine,” said Raza.
Several people from the districts called up the helpdesk with names and PNR numbers of their relatives. A team of officials called up their counterparts at the control room to get the latest updates. “I didn’t have to go to the station. Helpdesk officials called me to say my son-in-law was safe,” said Ramkrishna Saha, a resident of Naihati. SER set up a helpdesk at Kharagpur, too. “Around 130 people boarded from Kharagpur,” said an official.