Celebrations turned tragic after a festive crowd that was watching the Ravan effigy during the auspicious occasion of Dussehra strayed into the track nearby and were ran over by a speeding passenger train in Joda Phatak near Amritsar on Friday. At least 61 people were killed and 72 were injured in the incident, informed a senior government official.
Almost hundreds of people had gathered at the open ground near the Joda Phatak crossing, barely 70 meters away from the Amritsar-Jalandhar railway tracks, watching the Ravan effigy go up in flames and celebrating at around 7:00 pm when the train roared through several revellers crushing many on its way. FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES
Early reports stated that as the effigy started burning, the firecrackers inside it started going off. The noise was presumably too heavy and too loud for the onlookers to realise that a train was approaching from the Jalandhar region.
“We didn’t hear the train coming. It had become dark and everyone was watching the effigy when the train suddenly appeared,” Mintoo, a migrant labourer, who was among those celebrating at the event, told Hindustan Times.
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Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the wife of Punjab State Minister and former Cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, was also present at the event as the chief guest. But she had reportedly left 15 minutes prior to the accident.
Following the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh informed he was rushing to the spot to personally supervise the rescue operation but later had to cancel. He though later announced that “My govt will give Rs 5 lakh to kin of each deceased and free treatment to the injured in government and private hospitals. District authorities have been mobilised on war footing.” Mr Singh also assured that he has directed the district administration to leave no stone unturned to ensure the best possible treatment for them.
Many political leaders also paid their condolences to the bereaved families of the victims, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
Meanwhile, many oppositional leaders came heavy on the ruling Congress party for the incident, blaming their negligence. Navjot Kaur, who was present at the event, was also attacked for leaving the event too soon after the incident.
But Kaur clarified her stance by saying that the focus should be more on the victims and they should be given more priority, she said. She also rushed to the hospital.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal also cancelled all of his engagements in the United States and is returning to the country immediately. “May God give strength to the bereaved and injured. Railways is proving all possible assistance at the site. I have cancelled all engagements in the USA and immediately returning back to India,” he tweeted.
Manoj Sinha, the Punjab state minister of railways along with railway board chairman Ashwani Lohani and northern railway general manager Vishwesh Chaube rushed to the spot, while Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured every possible assistance from the Centre.
The Centre announced Rs 2 lakhs for the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
A similar incident had occurred in 2012 in Kerala when the Trivandrum-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express crushed down many people who were standing on the tracks to watch fireworks, killing three and injuring another.
Image Source: Hindustan Times