NEW DELHI: Nine persons were injured, including two in a critical condition, in a stampede incident as passengers rush to board a Gorakhpur-bound train at the Bandra railway station in Maharashtra on Sunday morning.
The two seriously injured persons were identified as Indrajit Sahani (19) and Noor Mohammed Shaikh (18). They have been admitted at the Bhabha Hospital.
In view of the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, a large number of people planning to go to their native places had reached the Bandra Terminus where several passengers rushed to board the unreserved train when it was being brought on a platform.
The empty Antyodaya Express, having all 22 general class coaches was being backed on platform no.1 at around 2.45 am. Things got out of hand when passengers, who had queued up while waiting for the train, tried to board it when it was taken on the platform from the yard with doors of the coaches locked from inside.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the “stampede” was the latest example of India’s crumbling infrastructure. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray said the incident at Bandra reflected how “incapable” the current Railways Minister was.
“Wish the reel minister was a rail minister for once. The incident at Bandra only reflects how incapable the current Railways Minister is. The BJP has made Ashwini Vaishnaw a Prabhari for the BJP Maharashtra for elections, but every week there are some incidents and accidents that occur with the railways. Such a shame that our country has been forced undern such incapable ministers,” Aditya added.
His party colleague Sanjay Raut said Vaishnaw was too busy with the bullet train project, while passengers in Mumbai were being ignored.
Following the stampede incident, the Central Railway on Sunday imposed a temporary restriction on sale of platform tickets at major stations to reduce festival crowding.
Central railway said the platform ticket sale restrictions will be in force at Chhatrapati Shivjai Maharaj Terminus, Dadar, Kurla LTT, Thane, Kalyan, Pune and Nagpur stations with immediate effect. Western Railway said platform ticket sale restrictions have been imposed till November 8 at Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra Terminus, Borivali, Vasai Road, Vapi, Valsad, Udhna and Surat stations.