Helpdesks hardly helpful during crisis

Poor coordination and communication gaps in the railways’ crisis management system came to the fore in the aftermath of Friday’s accident near Anekal.

The helpdesks set up at the City Railway Station, about two hours after the accident, were hardly helpful. Till evening, the attendants at these desks were unable to provide any concrete information on the death toll and the injured. To add to the confusion, the names of the injured were not matching with those in the list of passengers available with the authorities at the railway station.

The injured have been admitted to Sparsh Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Government Hospital, Anekal among others.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
When asked for information on the people who died in the accident, the officials at the helpdesk told Deccan Herald that they had confirmed details about only two from Bengaluru and could not confirm the other names. However, senior officials of South Western Railways including the divisional railway manager who reached the accident spot around three hours after the mishap, said that nine passengers had died in the accident. But, till evening, the helpdesk had no confirmation about the casualties, leaving the relatives of several passengers in a lurch.

Swathi P, who wanted to know about her colleague who was travelling by the ill-fated train, called all the three helpdesk numbers several times.

However, her efforts went in vain and finally she came to the railway station where she was told by the officials that her colleague had been admitted to the government hospital in Anekal.

The helpdesks at the Bengaluru City Railway Station could be contacted on :080-22371166/22156553/22156554/9731666751.