Railway accident victims urge authorities to implement measures to prevent similar instances; sympathise with Ghatkopar victim Monika More
“Like me, Monika More has to move on. This is how life is,” said Anupam Suraj who lost his leg after falling into the gap between the train and platform while trying to board a train at Thane station in July last year. “But, the railway authorities should seriously do something to avoid such accidents,” added Suraj.
Anupam Suraj was rushed to hospital after he fell into the gap between the train and platform, while trying to board a train at Thane station in July last year. Anupam was in the city accompanying his father (above) for his cancer treatment
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Six months after the accident, Muzaffarnagar resident Suraj, now 24, said he has not been able to sleep properly since that awful day of July 27. Around 12.42 pm, Suraj, his father, and mother were waiting at the platform to board the Pawan Express. (He was in the city, accompanying his father who was receiving cancer treatment at Tata Hospital, and was returning to their native place).
Suraj first ushered in his father into the compartment and then his mother. He also managed to load the luggage they were carrying. “But, by the time he entered the coach, the train started moving and his hand slipped and he fell in the gap. Passengers pulled the chain and he was extricated, but the wheels had gone over his leg,” said a railway police officer who was involved in the rescue operation.
"After my father's treatment, we were making our way back to Muzaffarnagar, when tragedy struck. My hand slipped while boarding the train, and I was thrown in the gap between the platform and the train. It’s a horrible memory to have,” said Suraj, speaking on the phone from his home in Muzaffarnagar.
His father said Suraj keeps himself occupied by reading newspapers, and is looking for a job. His father has not come to Mumbai for his further treatment. “I will not go the city again alone for my treatment. Suraj is the only support in my life and now it’s his turn to get support from me,” said the father.
Two years on, victim finds solace in family
When Gorai resident Virginia D’souza read about the Ghatkopar train accident victim Monika More losing both her hands, she could understand the pain the teenager would have undergone. In May 2011, her sister Sharon underwent something similar at Mira Road railway station, which resulted in her losing the fingers of her hand.
Today, despite losing four fingers of her right hand and two fingers on her left hand, 34-year-old Sharon manages to do almost all her work by herself. “If today I have gotten back to leading a normal life, it’s only because of my family and my friends. They have been so motivating and encouraging at every stage during this period that it helped me face life again. They all call me a brave girl, but probably it’s because of them that I have become so courageous,” said Sharon.
Virginia, however, is all praise for her sister. She said, “On the day the accident took place, we had to shift her to three hospitals in eight hours. My sister’s ribs were fractured and we were so worried for her. She had fallen into the gap between the train and platform. At the time, our concern was to get her to a good hospital, as doctors at the first hospital suggested amputation. We surely did not want that to be done and, therefore, took a second and a third opinion as well.
The doctors at a hospital in Mulund, where we took her to on the day of the accident, finally told us there was no need to cut her hand from the wrist down and only the fingers would need to be amputated,” said Virginia. “My husband went and measured the gap a few days later, only to find it to be 13 inches. Besides, at the BMC hospital where she was taken to first, her jewellery was also robbed,” added Virginia.
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