Bhubaneswar: While movement of trains is slowly resuming on the restored tracks at the triple train accident site in Odisha’s Balasore district, Odisha government, which proactively carried out rescue operations, is facing an uphill task of identifying the bodies of those who died.
Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told the media that 170 bodies (85 in Bhubaneswar and as many in Balasore) have been identified so far and are being handed over for transfer to destination after due process. “Arrangements for free transportation of the bodies by hearses/dead body carriers till destination have also been made to help the bereaved families, who are already under a lot of trauma,” he added.
The train accident, involving Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, at Bahanaga Bazaar station in Balasore on June 2 left 275 dead and over 1,000 people injured.
Jena further said that arrangements have been made to collect applications for death certificate and process those for transportation of bodies within minimum time period from Balasore police, hospital and municipality. Those will be sent electronically or speed post, he added.
The state government has also issued two 24X7 toll-free numbers – 18003450061/ 1929 – to help those looking for their relatives. “People can call on these numbers from anywhere in India for information on the dead and the injured. Once they arrive in Odisha, the government officials will receive them and facilitate the dead body identification process in an organised manner,” he said.
The photographs of those killed in triple train accident have been uploaded on srcodisha.nic.in, bmc.gov.in and osdma.org only to facilitate identification. A control room has also been set up at BMC-ICOMC tower at Staya Nagar in Bhubaneswar with nodal officers to coordinate with different hospitals and other agencies and facilitate relatives and friends of the victims and injured.
AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, in a release, said that it had received 123 bodies and despatched 24, 16 belonging to West Bengal, Odisha 2, Jharkhand 1 and Bihar 5, after identification till this morning.
Notably, 170 bodies were brought to Bhubaneswar on Sunday and kept at the morgues of six private and government hospitals in the city.
According information shared by the government, 1,175 patients were admitted to hospitals across the state, of which 793 have been discharged. Currently, 382 passengers are under treatment and their condition is stable condition.
Odisha is also providing free bus services to the people who want to travel to Kolkata in view of disruption of rail services due to Bahanaga train mishap. A total of 20 buses from Puri, 23 buses from Bhubaneswar and 16 buses from Cuttack left for Kolkata as on 11.30 pm on June 4.
