Ferozepur, October 20, 2018: Expressing concern over the traffic incident killing more than 50 persons at Amritsar, on Dushera festival day on Friday evening, Vivek Kumar, DRM Ferozepur has said, neither the railway nor the driver is responsible for the tragic incident.
DRM said the people were trespassing the railway lines when the incident took place. Due to darkness and sound of crackers, the people could not hear the coming of the train. The driver tried to put the brakes by minimizing the speed to the train running at 90 Km/hour but it takes time to stop the train.
Since I am concerned with the railways, I can’t say as to who is responsible for this incident.
Regarding the permission to celebrate Dushera near the railway lines, he said, no permission was taken from the railways. Even no intimation was given.
Immediately on getting the information, medical vans were rushed to Amritsar; control room was asked to monitor the cancellation and diversion of trains besides sending the officers’ team to Amritsar to take stock of the situation. Stills trains are held up as there is no security clearance yet.
Earlier , MOS Railways , who visited the spot at midnight also said that there was no fault of railways.