Siliguri: A resident of Siliguri died on the way back home from Mahakumbha Mela held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The deceased has been identified as Ramesh Jaiswal (49 years). He was a resident of Ward 11 in Siliguri and was a businessman.
Jaiswal had traveled to Prayagraj with a friend on February 7 to take a holy dip at the Mahakumbh. He was returning home on the Rajdhani Express with a confirmed seat — seat number 13 in Coach A1. However, due to extreme overcrowding, he was unable to access his seat and was stuck in the congested compartment for hours.
According to his family, he suffered respiratory distress due to the excessive jostling and lack of space. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he was dropped off at Patna Station and he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. His body was brought back to Siliguri on Wednesday, plunging the local community into mourning.
His relatives and local residents have strongly condemned the incident, blaming the Indian Railways and the administration for severe mismanagement.
Rupam Jaiswal, a family member, expressed her anger saying: “There was extreme negligence from the Railway authorities. Due to their mismanagement, we lost our family member. This is unacceptable.”
Manjusree Paul, councillor of Ward 11, visited the family and offered her condolences. She also criticised the authorities for their failure to manage the passenger rush.
“The Railways must take greater responsibility for passenger safety. This level of mismanagement is shocking. I urge the administration and Railway officials to be more vigilant to prevent such tragedies in the future,” she said.