E-Paper
After Balasore tragedy, seven families, their grief and an unending wait
They are seven different families, from three states, but are bound through one devastating moment in history; by an immeasurable sense of shared grief
They are seven different families, from three different states, but they are bound together; through one devastating moment in history; by an immeasurable sense of shared grief. On the evening of June 2, people they loved,a father, a son, a brother, were on two trains, the Coromandel Express and the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express headed in opposite directions, migrant workers, in the general compartment, playing a game on their mobile phones, or staring out into the villages of Odisha as they zipped past.
At 6:50 pm, at the small station of Bahanaga Bazaar in Balasore, the Coromandel Express changed direction, switched to a line that fatally, had a stationary goods train. They collided, and such was the impact, that several bogies derailed, some of which then crashed into the passing Yeshwantpur Howrah Express. The three-train accident was India’s worst in three decades. Over 900 were injured and 293(at last count) were dead.
The days in the immediate aftermath were frantic, rescuers pulling out bodies and the injured, the media descending on the accident site, worried families arriving to take away their loved ones, only injured if they were fortunate. Since then, much has changed. The Bahanaga Bazaar station is up and running, trains such as the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express speed past the mangled iron lying on the side of the tracks every day. Life has moved on, except in one corner of Bhubaneswar.
For twenty eight days, at the Radheshyam guest house in Bhubaneswar, in rooms right next to each other, seven families waited for the bodies of those they loved. Of the 293 dead, 81 had not been identified. Samples were sent to the CFSL so that their DNA could be matched. Only on Friday did AIIMS Bhubaneswar say 29 of these 81 bodies had been identified (five of the seven families in the guest house found closure). There is little word on when this process will end. A senior official of AIIMS Bhubaneswar said: “The bodies are stored in containers at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. I cannot give a time when all the results will come.”
There were once 58 of them at the guest house, paid for by the Indian Railways, but angry and despondent, most left. Seven remained. Five were told that they would be able to take back the bodies on Friday. But for 28 days, in five questions, this is the story of their pathos; the story of an India hidden under the surface; of migrant labourers that spend their lives building the infrastructure that propels India, but are forced travel thousands of kilometres in cramped compartments for a modicum of financial security; an India where an urgent travel ticket requires a loan; an India where it takes 28 days, or more, to receive a dead body. In conversations held on June 28, in their own words, this is their story.
Looking for: Bhim Choudhary (26)
What is your name, and who is the family member that died?
My name is Arjun Choudhary(27), and I am waiting for the body of my younger brother Bhim Choudhary(26).
What did your family member do, and why was he on the train?
We are from the village of Purani Sahebganj in Jharkhand. All of us are daily wage labourers who have no land. We work in the fields of others for a living. Bhim was traveling to Chennai for the first time to work as a construction labourer which would have earned him ₹15,000, free food and housing. He did not want to leave, but our father Laxman is physically challenged, and he wanted us to have a better life. Bihar has no work, and no hope for a better life.
How did you find out about the accident?
I didn’t know about the accident till the morning on June 3, when I saw some alerts on my phone. I dialed Bhim but it was switched off. By afternoon, I panicked, and I and two other families of men that were on the same train, hired an SUV for ₹33000, and left for Balasore. All of us took a loan of ₹11,000 from the same moneylender, at monthly interest rate of 10%.
At any point in your hunt for him, were you able to identify him?
I reached Bahanaga Bazaar on June 4, and went straight to the Bahanaga High School where 200 bodies were kept. He was not there. Then I went to the chamber of commerce building where there were more bodies, but he was not there too. I went to four hospitals in two cities in two days, and only when I returned to the Balasore district hospital, did I recognize a photograph of his body displayed there. I recognized the T-shirt he was wearing.
Why did you wait?
That body was claimed by another family as well. On June 6, I gave a blood sample for a DNA test. I ask the officials every day, but now they shoo me away. Tell me, if I do not come for his body, who will? I will wait for him forever.
Looking for: Suraj Kumar (21)
What is your name, and who is the family member that died?
My name is Bijendra Rishi (42), and I am waiting with my wife and son for the body of my 21 year old son Suraj Kumar.
What did your family member do, and why was he on the train?
We live in Rajbihar village in Bihar’s Purnea district. He had boarded the Coromandel Express to go to Chennai with three others to find work as a construction labourer. It was his first time on a train. We are all landless labourers, and he wanted to help us by sending us back money.
How did you find out about the accident?
I only found out about the accident when someone from the family of the three other men that had traveled with him called me, thanking his stars because his son had escaped with minor injuries. My son had not called me, and my heart sank. I knew what that meant. We wanted to hire an SUV but they wanted ₹40,000, money we did not have. We boarded a train and got to Bahanaga Bazaar in two days.
At any point in your hunt for him, were you able to identify him?
Every time we went to one place, we were told he was in some other hospital. Three days later, I identified his body as number 159 in the morgue, from the T shirt he wore, the same as in a selfie he had taken and put up on Facebook.
Why did you wait?
The body still hasn’t been given to us, and I was asked to give a DNA sample. Since then, they have asked us to wait. If we do not, how will we cremate the body and perform all rituals?
Looking for: Bipul Roy (22)
What is your name, and who is the family member that died?
My name is Shibkant Roy(44) and I am waiting with my younger brother Bharat Roy for the body of my son Bipul Roy (22).
What did your family member do and why was he on the train?
Though originally from Bhangi Dwitia Khanda village in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, I have lived and worked as a construction worker in Arunachal Pradesh for more than two decades. For the past one and half years, my elder son Bipul has lived in Tirupati where the remuneration is better than 300 rupees a day. On June 1, Bipul had boarded the general coach of the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express to go home because he was to be married in July.
How did you find out about the accident?
I only found out when I got a call from Tirupati.
At any point in your hunt, were you able to identify him?
My brother who got to Odisha first identified him as body number 14. He had the word “Shiva” tattooed on his right arm, and he wore black threads on his waist and ankle. But by the time I reached the hospital in Balasore from Arunachal, the body had been moved several places-- from a temporary morgue in the town to a private medical college and hospital in Bhubaneswar. At the Bhubaneswar hospital, we were told that someone else had already claimed the body, and they told us to look instead at others.
Why did you wait?
We were asked to look closely at bodies 9 and 11. But they were not him. Someone even said just identify any body and take the ₹12 lakh in ex gratia. How can I do that? He is my son. Tell me what can I do other than waiting for my son? He was coming home for his marriage next month to a girl in our village. If he is not cremated, how will he ever get peace? How will I?
Looking for: Krishna Rabidas (21)
What is your name, and who is the family member that died?
My name is Sibcharan Rabidas(28), and I am waiting for the body of my younger brother Krishna Rabidas (21).
What did your family member do and why was he on the train?
We are from Harischandrapur village of Malda in West Bengal. Krishna worked as a daily wage labourer in Bangalore since July 2022, where he laid underground pipes. The ₹15000 that he received as remuneration every month was far more regular than what he and his brothers earned back home. The youngest among four brothers and two sisters, Krishna left for Bangalore because his elder brothers had scolded him for not easing the family’s burden. He had boarded the Yeshwantpur Howrah Express because he wanted to come home for his younger sister’s marriage. That has now been cancelled and my mother has been hospitalised.
How did you find out about the accident?
I did not know about the tragedy until late on June 2. A rescuer in Bahanaga found a notebook from his belongings lying next to his lifeless body. In it was the number of his Bangalore contractor who then called and told us.
At any point in your hunt, were you able to identify him?
I travelled by bus to the accident spot from where I went to the AIIMS morgue in Bhubaneswar. I saw a photo of his body, which had no head, but I recognised his blue shirt.
Why did you wait?
Nobody cared to listen to my claims and I was gruffly told to wait for the DNA samples. Every day, I curse myself for having told him he did not contribute to the family. I am here because I cannot return to my family without him.
Looking for: Anjar-Ul-Haq (30)
What is your name and who is the family member who died?
My name is Mohammad Karim(20) and I am waiting for the body of my brother in law Anjar-Ul-Haq (30).
What did your family member do and why was he on the train?
He lived in Manganibhita village of Bengal’s North Dinajpur district, and ran a small betel nut shop. There was never enough money for his family of six that had three young children. In January this year, he moved to Bangalore to work as a daily wage labourer, and was coming home on the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express to be home for Bakrid.
How did you find out about the accident?
Someone from the family received a phone call. I do not recall right now.
At any point in your hunt, were you able to identify him?
I took a loan of ₹15000 from a local moneylender and hired an SUV to rush to the accident spot. All I knew was that he wore three rings on his fingers. But with most bodies disfigured, it was difficult to check each and every one. My sister has been inconsolable since the day of the accident while my nephews are crying for their father.
Why did you wait?
No one told me how long I have to wait, and they all talked to me with a sense of irritation. But I cannot go back home without his body. That is what my sister has told me.
Looking for: Samir Bauri (32)
What is your name and who is the family member who died?
My name is Shyamapa Bauri(27) and I am waiting for the body of my brother in law Samir Bauri (32).
What did your family member do and why was he on the train?
Samir left for Bangalore four months ago along with one other relative for work as a construction worker. There was no work in the village, and three children, a wife and a physically handicapped brother at home, the ₹15000 a month he earned was a ray of hope after the dark days of the pandemic. One month ago, the family was overjoyed because he sent ₹10000 home, the highest he had ever sent.
How did you find out about the accident?
I was expecting him on June 3, but I got worried when I received a phone call from another relative who saw the accident on the news. I left for Balasore by train on June 4 and arrived in Bhubaneswar on June 5.
At any point in your hunt, were you able to identify him?
I scanned every body and every photo, till I found him at the AIIMS morgue. Though his face was unrecognisable, he had the word Rabi(his nickname) tattooed on his right arm, and some scars on his legs. I also knew it was him from the red vest he was wearing.
Why did you wait?
The officials found his Aadhaar card in his pocket, and while several others were given bodies by minor identification, I do not know what metric they used to deny me his body. I am also feeling guilty that had I not chided him about he wasting his time, he would have been alive. I have not been told how long I have to wait, but I am angry, and I will not leave.
Looking for: Sujit Kumar (27)
What is your name and who is the family member who died?
My name is Ajit Kumar(18) and I am waiting for the body of my elder brother Sujit Kumar (27).
What did your family member do and why was he on the train?
Sujit is from Tazpur village in Begusarai district of Bihar. Everyone leaves my village for work, and on June 2, he had also boarded the Coromandel Express to look for work as a labourer in Chennai. He used to work in fields of others at home, and then as an ice cream seller in Odisha, but we needed the money to marry off our two younger sisters, and so he was on his way to Chennai.
How did you find out about the accident?
I found out when I got a call from my frantic father-in-law. I took an advance of ₹8000 from his contractor and then made calls to his friends in Odisha from when he was an ice cream seller to find out how to get there.
At any point in your hunt, were you able to identify him?
I arrived in Balasore on June 5 and then went to AIIMS Bhubaneswar where I identified him from a black belt and jeans that I had given him. His face was smashed but the jeans were mine.
Why did you wait?
The problem was a smartphone he was holding, which was a different make to the one I remembered my brother using. That doubt made the officials refuse to hand over the body. I have exhausted the advance but I will stay here till I can touch him again. One last time.
