SECR staffer killed in mishap: while returning to city after GM’s visit to Chandafort
| Date :29-Jun-2024 |
Staff Reporter
Maiden inspection visit of new General Manager (GM) of South East Central Railway (SECR) to Nagpur Division ended abruptly after a local staffer died in a road mishap when the car he was travelling in collided with a trailer at Temburda, about 12 km from Jamb, on Nagpur-Chandrapur highway, on Friday afternoon. While a staffer of Commercial Branch, Surendrasingh Chauhan, employed in sanitation work, died on the spot, two others including driver Venkat Rao were injured. The other injured is identified as Babloo Dogar and condition of driver is stated to be critical.
The trio were coming from Chandafort where General Manager Neenu Ittyerah earlier conducted inspection. As per tour programme, the GM was on annual inspection visit, her maiden tour after taking over reins at Bilaspur Zone. From Chandafort, she was to travel for Gondia and then to Itwari for inspection. Staffers from Nagpur Division as per custom were sent to Chandafort for various preparatory works and that included the two staffers of Commercial Branch. The two staffers were attached to Motibagh PRS and yet they were dispatched at Chandafort, which is nearly 160 kms, by the division bosses for reasons best known to them.
Various vehicles of senior officers were also sent to ferry various material from division headquarters, said the sources. The vehicle MH-31/AG-9351 is allotted to Sr Divisional Signal and Telecom Engineer (Sr DST) and it was on its way to Nagpur when the mishap occurred. The driver of a trailer ahead suddenly braked hard and the vehicle of railway officer that was behind it rammed into the trailer as the driver lost control. The front portion of four wheeler was smashed beyond repair and those seated on front seats took full impact of the dash. The injured duo were rushed to Warora Sub District Hospital for treatment.
Old vehicle in use by SECR
The official vehicle of Sr DST that was involved in the mishap was reportedly overdue for scrapping. It was a Toyota Qualis, launched between 2002-2004. Its presence is almost negligible anywhere on roads. Yet it is a mystery as to why SECR continued with use of such an old vehicle. The four wheeler was utilised for intra-city transport which further puts a question mark on protocol given the critical condition of the vehicle. Meanwhile, after the news about mishap reached senior staffers, the GM cut short the tour programme. Senior officers from division had boarded the GM special that dropped the scheduled programme at Gondia and later at Itwari, it is learnt.