BLAME GAME BEGINS AFTER 59 DIED WHEN TRAIN PLOUGHED INTO CROWD AT FESTIVAL
▶ Indian railway officials and Amritsar leaders dispute responsibility over accident at Dusshera celebration
Indian railway officials and community leaders yesterday accused each other over an accident in which a train ran over scores of people gathered on the tracks for a festival in the northern city of Amritsar, killing at least 59.
A large crowd formed across the railway on the city’s fringe to burn effigies as part of a major Hindu festival on Friday night when the train sped through the gathering.
Many of the victims were shooting videos on their mobile phones or taking selfies.
Grieving relatives and residents said there was no warning from the train as it approached while firecrackers exploded in the sky to celebrate the annual Dusshera festival.
“I’ve been seeing this event every Dusshera from here and this has never happened before,” said Deep Kumari, who watched the festival from the terrace of her house.
“The railways should have stopped or slowed down the train. Everyone here knows this effigy burning happens here and there is a big crowd.”
Yesterday, he driver said he had received a green signal, and had no idea that hundreds of people were standing on the track.
The Punjab Police and Railway Police have detained him for questioning at the Ludhiana Railway Station.
India’s state railways, mainly
built during British colonial rule, have long faced criticism for their safety record. A political focus on keeping fares low for the 23 million passengers who use the network daily has led to decades of underinvestment in safety, critics say.
Data from parliament in July showed that 49,790 people were killed by trains in India between 2015 and last year.
Friday’s accident was the worst in years but Manoj Sinha, the junior minister in charge of running the world’s fourth largest rail system, said the railway could not be held responsible.
“Railways were not informed about the ceremony,” Mr Sinja said as he visited the site yesterday. “Why was it organised there? There was no notice given to the railways.”
Clothes were strewn and there were blood marks around the narrow railway line on the outskirts of Amritsa.
Witnesses also said that Friday’s ceremony was delayed by a few hours because the chief guest was running late, which meant that it coincided with the train’s scheduled arrival.
Families and friends of the killed vented their anger at Navjyot Kaur Sidhu, a former Punjab state politician who arrived late for the burning of the effigies and left just before the accident occurred.
Bikram Singh Majitha, a leader of the regional Akali Dal party, said: “You can see from videos that people shot that as soon as the effigy was lit,you can see the train coming from the other side. It was horrific. Organisers must answer. Why the delay?”
But Kaur, whose husband, Navjyot Singh Sidhu, is a state minister, said effigies were burnt at six places in Amritsar and most of them were in fields near the tracks.