The horrific triple-train accident at Balasore in Odisha continues to haunt the kin of the victims who have been waiting for the bodies of their loved ones, almost four weeks after the deadly accident that claimed nearly 300 lives.
The train accident, which was the worst rail disaster in three decades in the country, killed 290 people, with many, including those involved in the rescue operations, raising doubts about the official mortality count. Locals in the area claim that there were at least 1,000 dead.
Odisha train accident -- endless wait for families of victims
Four weeks after the accident, families of victims are camping near local hospitals to claim their loved ones' bodies.
Basanti Devi from Bari-Ballia village in Bihar’s Begusarai district has been camping in a guest house located at an isolated area near AIIMS since the last 10 days for her husband's body.
Her husband was the sole breadwinner of the family. He has left behind five kids and his wife who worry about how they will survive.
“I’m here for my husband Yogendra Paswan, a contract labourer. He was killed in the accident at Bahanaga Bazar while returning home in the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
With no information about when her wait for her husband's body will end, she said, “While some officials say it will take 5 more days, others say it might take more time. There is just no clarity by the administration."
Similarly, Narayan Rishidev from Purnia, has been waiting to claim the body of his grandson Suraj Kumar since June 4. After completing his matriculation, Suraj was travelling to Chennai in search of a job, in the ill-fated Coromandel Express.
“The authorities have already taken my DNA sample, but the report is yet to come,” he added.
Shivkant Roy from West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district said his son Vipul was returning home from Tirupati for his marriage in June-end.
To add to his dismay, his son's body had already been cremated by the time he could reach the body. “My son’s body was kept at KIMS Hospital but I kept looking for him in a Balasore hospital. I was later informed that KIMS Hospital handed over the body to someone from Bihar, who took it with him and cremated it,” Shivkant Roy said.
As many as 35 people have been camping at the guest house, to identify the bodies of their near and dear ones, while 15 others have left for home due to delay in arrival of DNA reports.
A railway official told PTI that they were appealing to claimants to provide their DNA samples. “We are just a bridge between AIIMS and the state government,” the railway official said. A total of 84 families have given DNA samples so far.
The bodies of 81 victims lay preserved in three containers at Bhubaneswar AIIMS and their identities are yet to be ascertained.
