Migrant worker who survived Auranagabad train tragedy traumatized by haunting images

Mumbai: A 30-year-old worker was discharged from Aurangabad civil hospital on Saturday. He was from the same group of 16 labourers, who were crushed to death by a goods train near Karmad railway station in Aurangabad while sleeping.

Shivmaan Singh, a survivor of the train tragedy says that the disturbing images of the death of his companions in front of his eyes were haunting him and left him with the mental trauma that he will never be able to overcome in his life.

Singh and 19 others worked in a steel manufacturing unit in Jalna, a district adjoining Aurangabad, and started walking home in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday evening. They decided to rest on the tracks near Karmad, around 30 km from Aurangabad, after walking for about 36 kms. However, 16 of them were run over by the train coming from Jalna at 5.15 am on Friday.

The 30-year-old said, “I was walking a little slower than others due to the pain in my legs. When we reached the place of incident, we slept as we were very tired. I was sleeping some distance away. But when I heard the sound of a fast-approaching train, I woke up. I tried to raise an alarm. However, everything was over in a matter of seconds.”

He is now travelling back from Shramik Express to his native place in Madhya Pradesh in a train along with three other survivors and bodies of 16 victims.

“Although I was completely exhausted, I could hardly sleep on Friday night as the gory images of the accident kept coming to my mind. I think I will never be able to overcome the impact of the tragedy that unfolded before my eyes,” said Mr Singh.

He further added, “After the news of the accident broke, my family members tried calling me repeatedly. But my phone was off as its battery was discharged. After the accident, we were busy helping the officials in identifying the victims and replying to their queries.”

Another survivor, Veerendra Singh, said, “What should we do now, who is going to listen to us? We cannot blame anyone. Our fellow mates are never going to come back. ”

When asked about the travel passes, he said, “We had applied for travel passes a week ago in our home state, but didn’t get any response. My wife and children are in my native village. We had decided to set off on our journey till Bhusawal on foot.”