People's Democracy

GOLDEN TEMPLE EXPRESS FIRE

The Toll Could Have Been Much Higher

First Hand Account of Suneet Chopra

Following is the statement of Suneet Chopra, central committee member of CPI(M) who was  a passenger on the ill-fated 2903 Mumbai-Amritsar Golden Temple Express which caught fire between Ludhiana and Laddhowal Stations at 0400 hrs on May 15, 2003 resulting in the death of at least 38 persons. He faxed this statement from Jalandhar, hours after the mishap:

IT IS with a sense of torment and grief that I look back on the events near the Laddhowal over bridge. The morning papers in Jalandhar tell me of 38 dead. I was able to get information of only seven on the spot. We share the grief of the afflicted families.

Second, my life was probably saved by the event that cost others their life. I had a reservation in bogie number S5, seat number 16. But when I boarded the train at Muzaffarnagar, my seat was given over to a lady passenger and I was accommodated in S6 bogie on a side seat.

It is fortunate that the fire did not break out before Ludhiana, as the train was so over crowded that it was impossible to reach the lavatories, leave alone escape.  Had the fire broken out earlier, escape would have been impossible and the toll at least four times more.

The major fault is that of the railways ministry which has so overworked their staff that all one noted was a daze on their part. The engine driver, however, showed remarkable presence of mind in stopping the train and de-linking the burning bogies from the rest with the help of few Army personnel who were traveling on the train.  However, there was no evidence of proper first aid kits on the train as the wounded had no medicines even to assuage their pain.

The major reasons for the mishap are overworked staff, overcrowded trains and a complete failure to ensure even minimum norms of safety on the railways.  In fact, it will  be difficult to tell the names of a number of the victims, as even those with valid reservations had to avail of alternate accommodation.

The railway ministry must take its full responsibility for this mishap. Overwork and overcrowding must stop. Victims must be given Rs 5 lakhs each immediately with adequate compensation for the wounded. The bars on sleeper windows must be replaced so as to allow escape through the windows. A proper check up must be maintained of first aid and fire-fighting facilities on trains. A high-level inquiry should be held not only on this mishap but on others as well to provide adequate safety on the Indian Railways.