Hundreds watch mock drill of rescue at railway station in Mysuru

Hundreds of people, mostly from the families of the employees of the Railways and from the neighbourhood thronged Ashokapuram railway station in Mysuru, on Tuesday to watch a full-scale mock drill of a train derailment-induced rescue and relief operation.

Mysuru division of South Western Railway (SWR), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Railway Protection Force, Railway Police, State government personnel from the civil administration and the Police conducted the mock drill.

The scenario: derailment and capsizing of two general second class passenger coaches SWR 91604 and SWR 92665 of Train No 06220 Tirupati-Chamarajanagar Express around 9.56 am.

On receiving the message, the railway officials rushed to the accident site to carry out rescue operations as per the standard protocols. The NDRF team, led by Harish Chandra Pandey, Inspector, General Duty, and 20 personnel, reached the site within 20 minutes. Personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services department, doctors and nursing staff from the railway hospital along with ambulances were at the spot to provide first aid and assist in taking out about 15 passengers trapped in two coaches.

The operation lasted for about 70 minutes and was completed by 11.40 am.

Divisional Railway Manager Rahul Agarwal said, “Train accidents and natural disasters cause widespread destruction of infrastructure and property. The economic and environmental costs can be devastating. If fail-safe management systems are in place, a great deal of relief would be possible to victims of such disasters.”

“The drill was held to test the efficacy of the Disaster Management Plan that includes a range of activities enabling the personnel from different departments of the railways to practice safety-related measures during an emergency. Disaster management aims to reduce the potential loss of human lives and property by assuring prompt and appropriate assistance at the earliest possible time,” he said.

Agarwal said,"The correct methods of conducting mock exercises will go a long way in improving the preparedness to deal with and also to prevent disasters due to human factor. Minimising the impact, loss of human lives or damage to infrastructure are of paramount importance. Preventive measures are assigned the highest priority during such drills to mitigate the sufferings of victims as mandated by the Ministry of Railways,” he said.

The DRM said, "Adequate maintenance schedules of all relief and rescue equipment including those in accident relief trains and cranes are being ensured as laid down in the rules to ensure operational readiness at all times. Mysuru division of SWR is equipped with necessary relief requirements like Self-Propelled Accident Relief Train (SPART), locomotive hauled accident relief trains, 140 tonne crane and medical relief train with trained personnel.”

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