Family members during the identification of dead passengers in the recent triple-train accident, at the AIIMS helpdesk in Bhubaneswar. file | Photo Credit: PTI
There is no end to the grief and agony of the kin of the victims of the Odisha train accident on June 2 as they await the mortal remains of their loved ones even after almost four weeks. Fatal accident that killed nearly 300 people,
Basanti Devi of Bari-Baliya village in Bihar’s Begusarai district has been camping in a guest house located in an isolated area near AIIMS for the last 10 days to claim her husband’s body.
Read also: Odisha starts DNA sampling in suspected cases before handing over bodies to relatives
“I have come here for my husband Yogendra Paswan, who is a contract labourer. He was killed in the accident at Bahanaga market while returning home in the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
He claimed that the authorities have not given him any time frame as to when he would get the body. “Though some officials say it will take 5 more days, others say it may take more time. There is no clarity from the administration,” she said.
“I have five children. I have left my three children and brought two sons with me. My husband was the sole earner. I don’t know how I will survive,” she said.
Read also: How an ISKCON temple near the Balasore train accident site is helping victims, volunteers
Similar is the situation of Narayan Rishidev of Purnia, who has been waiting for the mortal remains of his grandson Suraj Kumar since June 4. Suraj was on his way to Chennai on the ill-fated Coromandel Express.
After completing his matriculation, Suraj was going to Chennai in search of a job.
“The officials have already taken my DNA sample, but the report is yet to come,” he added.
Shivkant Roy of West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district said his son Vipul was returning home from Tirupati for his wedding in late June.
“My son’s body was kept at KIMS hospital but I kept searching for him at Balasore hospital. I was later informed that KIMS Hospital handed over the body to someone from Bihar, who took it with him and performed the last rites,” said Mr. Shivkant Roy PTI,
Similarly, Rajkali Devi of Mizaffarpur in Bihar is waiting for her husband’s body who was on his way to Chennai.
Due to the delay in DNA reports, 35 people are camping in the guest house, while 15 others have left for home.
calls and messages from PTI There was no response from AIIMS director Ashutosh Biswas.
A railway official told PTI They were appealing to the claimants to provide their DNA samples.
“We are just a bridge between AIIMS and the state government,” said a railway official.
Meanwhile, 81 bodies preserved in three containers at Bhubaneswar AIIMS are yet to be identified. A total of 84 families have given DNA samples so far.
Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, Howrah-bound SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train were involved in a fatal accident near Bahnaga Bazar station in Balasore district on June 2, in which over 290 people were killed.