Two killed, 15 injured in stampede at Bengal's Santragachi station; Mamata Banerjee accuses railway authorities of 'negligence'

Two people were killed and at least 15 others, including two women, including two women, were injured in a stampede on Tuesday evening on a foot overbridge at Santragachi railway station in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Banerjee, who rushed to the station from a Durga puja immersion carnival, blamed negligence and callousness on the part of the railways for the incident. [caption id=“attachment_4268281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] “Two persons have died in a stampede at Santragachi this evening,” she said. The two deceased have been identified as Kamlakant Singh (32) and Taser Sardar (61). While 12 injured were admitted to a hospital, three persons were administered first aid at the station, South Eastern Railway spokesman Sanjay Ghosh said. Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the dead persons and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured from the state government. The Railways also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of those who died, Rs 1 lakh to each of the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for persons who sustained minor injury. Ghosh said that “medical expenses for the injured will be borne by the Railways.” Blaming the incident on negligence and callousness on the part of Railways, the chief minister said there should be more internal coordination to prevent such situation. “I feel there is a gap in coordination and the Railways should look into it. They should have given some time gap between the arrival of two trains when the passengers have to change platforms,” the chief minister said. “Such situations occur due to negligence and callousness. The Railways should act in a more responsible way,” Banerjee, herself a former Railway minister, said. “The Nagercoil-Shalimar Express and two EMU locals arrived at the station at the same time, while Shalimar-Vishakhapatnam Express and Santragachi-Chennai Express were scheduled to arrive shortly,” Ghosh said.

Santragachhi footbridge stampede: Helpline numbers from Railways: 032221072 (Kharagpur), 03326295561(Santragachi) #WestBengal https://t.co/8Kyrzj1zIU

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2018

According to the official, the incident occurred between platform numbers two and three at Santragachi station of South Eastern Railway, about 10 km from Howrah station. A large number of passengers either deboarded or were waiting to board trains at the same time, leading to a rush on the foot overbridge. “While 11 injured persons were taken to Howrah General Hospital for treatment, three others were administered first aid at the station,” he said. Several express trains stop at the station, apart from numerous EMU locals of SER. Thousands of people use the station everyday since it is easier to travel to and from south and central Kolkata from Santragachi. With inputs from PTI