Vande Bharat, But No Facilities: Father Of Woman Who Died At Delhi Station

"We are making Vande Bharat, but rail infrastructure is inadequate... there are no facilities despite the huge footfall at station," said the woman's father 

                  Vande Bharat, But No Facilities: Father Of Woman Who Died At Delhi Station 

New Delhi: The woman who died of electrocution at the New Delhi Railway Station on Sunday, did not receive any help or First Aid since there was no ambulance, doctors or police at the spot. The family could leave the station only after 40 minutes and Sakshi Ahuja died on way to the hospital, her father Lokesh Kumar Chopra told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

“The Railway officials informed us that action will be taken but not seeing any action being taken till now… Our system is not improving… we are making high-quality trains like Vande Bharat, but have been unable to install proper infrastructure at stations… there are no facilities despite the huge footfall,” said Mr Chopra, whose family was on way to Chandigarh by the railways’ newest, state-of-the-art train.

The local labourers, Mr Chopra said, had alleged that a similar incident took place earlier also. “They said they had filed a complaint, but no action was taken,” he said. “Why is there no improvement in our systems? Why are there no proper checks? Why are there open wires lying around? Why work only when it is shown in media?” said Mr Chopra.

“We don’t want money. Punish those who are responsible,” Mr Chopra said. The family, he added, was “ready for legal battle”.

A teacher living in East Delhi’s Preet Vihar, Sakshi Ahuja had stepped into a puddle and held on to an electric pole to avoid slipping when she suffered a massive jolt of power. The accident occurred near exit number one of the railway station, the police said. Two signage poles with open wiring were found at the spot.

Her two children — a 9-year-old son, and a 7-year-old daughter — who were accompanying her on a family holiday, narrowly escaped.

“I was parking the car and asked my daughter to take the bags and the children and proceed towards the train. But there was no proper arrangement there. She stepped into a puddle and got electrocuted… there was a high tension 440-volt wire,” her father said, recalling the traumatic day.

The family took one hour reach the nearest hospital — around 2.5 km away. “We spent at least 30–40 minutes to get out of the premises. the exits were choked with vehicles .. I had realised that my daughter has passed away… She was not breathing… But I didn’t react as her small children were with me,” he said.

Pointing to the five lakh people who pass through the station daily, Mr Chopra said ambulances should be available there round-the-clock.”We should ask ourselves what facilities we are offering to those 5 lakh people,” he said.

The railways said they are investigating the matter. “A committee has been formed to probe the incident and find the cause of the incident. Necessary action will be taken and those found guilty will be taken to task,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

Sakshi Ahuja was a teacher in Lovely Public School, Priyadarshani Vihar, Laxmi Nagar. Her sister Madhvi Chopra, who was accompanying them at the time, has filed a complaint alleging negligence by concerned authorities. On basis of the complaint, a police case has been filed.

The authorities are now conducting a safety audit of all electric poles and electricity infrastructure to prevent any such incident in the future, the police said.