Eleven Rajasthan passengers were among injured in the derailed Bikaner-Guwahati Express train on Thursday, however, no casualties were reported from the state. The helpline numbers set up were ringing non-stop since the accident occurred. The officials claimed that over 100 calls were received in Bikaner division alone though on Friday these decreased significantly.
JAIPUR: Eleven Rajasthan passengers were among injured in the derailed Bikaner-Guwahati Express train on Thursday, however, no casualties were reported from the state. The helpline numbers set up were ringing non-stop since the accident occurred. The officials claimed that over 100 calls were received in Bikaner division alone though on Friday these decreased significantly.
According to officials, more than three dozen people were injured in the mishap out of which 11 are from Rajasthan. There were total nine fatalities in the train accident though none were from state.
The train left Bikaner at 1:45am on Thursday and derailed around 5pm near New Jalpaiguri due to which 12 coaches went off the tracks. According to North Western Railway officials, 1,225 passengers from Rajasthan had boarded the train. Of these, 900 deboarded at their destinations before the accident, while the remaining were in the train.Following the accident, helplines were made operational in Bikaner, Jaipur and Jodhpur divisions.
“After the helpline numbers were launched, we got over 150 calls from Bikaner division which were the maximum followed by Jaipur from where we got around 70 calls. After the accident, there was a frenzy of calls on Thursday but as the rescue and relief operations were underway, the calls also reduced,” said an NWR official.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot had asked his ministers Bhanwar Singh Bhati and Govind Ram Meghwal to reach Bagdogra in West Bengal and coordinate in the relief work on behalf of the Rajasthan government. The duo reached there on Friday and took stock of the situation. “We have met the injured persons and seen the accident site as well. Those with serious injuries will be given a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each from the state government while those with minor injuries will be given Rs 50,000 each. We have asked the railway minister to set up a high level probe into the matter,” Meghwal said.
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