Amritsar rail tragedy: Victims’ families plan Dasehra protest

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 21

As the Dasehra tragedy in Amritsar nears its first anniversary, nearly 40 families who lost around 60 members in the gruesome incident on the festival night have decided to sit on the railway tracks at Joda Phatak in protest on October 8 or Vijayadashmi.

The protest will be held to express resentment against unfulfilled promises, failure to fix accountability for the mishap and provide jobs and monetary assistance to the victims.

Deepak, who survived the mishap, said the surviving members of the families met and decided to hold a protest at the Joda Phatak where onlookers watching the effigies going up in flames were run over by a speeding train. Deepak lost his father and uncle in the tragedy and is now struggling to support eight members of his family.

Video Caption: File footage of Amritsar Train Tragedy

The Central Government had released Rs 2 lakh in compensation to the next of kin of each victim but the sum was allegedly not released in at least 10 cases.

Manjinder Kaur, who lost her husband and two minor grand-daughters, said Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had announced that the probe report would be released in four weeks but neither had the report been made public nor the organisers or government officials held responsible. The then Local Bodies Minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu, had announced jobs for the next of kin of those killed but the promise remains unfulfilled.

According to Maninder Kaur, 38 persons were identified for employment and eight were to be given a pension Rs 8,000 per month. “Nobody was offered a job and the pension remained erratic,” she pointed out. Vina, who lost her son Krishan, said the family did not receive any compensation as he died three days after the tragedy at a private hospital that was not on the list of hospitals released later by the state government.

Meanwhile, the organisers of the Dasehra festivity are finding it hard to get no-objection certificates (NOCs) to put up effigies this time. Their repeated representations prompted the district administration to introduce a single-window system to secure NOC for any public function.

 A year Later, probe report yet to be made public 

• Jobs were announced for the next of kin of those killed but the promise remains unfulfilled. Pension too was erratic
• The CM had announced probe report in four weeks but neither has the report been made public nor anyone held responsible
• Central Government released Rs 2 lakh to the families of each victim but sum not released in at least 10 such cases