Md Tanveer, a teacher at a private school in Hyderabad, reached Bhubaneswar on Sunday to find the bodies of his elder brother and two of his nephews who died in the Balasore triple-train accident. After 24 hours, he was able to trace his two nephews but the search for his brother’s body is still on.
The 38-year-old teacher told The Telegraph: “My elder brother Md Vikahri, 48, was going to Chennai in the Coromandel Express with his two sons Md Tossif, 11, and Md Tafsir, 13. I was in constant touch with him when he boarded the train at Howrah. After I came to know about the accident on Friday night, I tried to reach them over the phone, which was switched off. When I rang again the next day, someone picked up and informed me about the death of my brother.”
Tanveer said they hailed from Pirnakar in Bihar’s Purnia district. His elder brother used to work at a factory in Chennai and had come home to see his newborn. He spent a month there and decided to return to Chennai with Tossif and Tafsir.
“On Saturday all my relatives reached Balasore from Bihar and started searching for the bodies. They moved from one place to another — the accident site at Bahanaga to Soro and then Balasore. But they failed to trace the bodies. After I got to know about it, I decided to fly to Bhubaneswar.”
Tanveer reached Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning and joined the hunt with the help of the members of the All India Payam-e-Insaniyat (The Message of Humanity).
“I first went to AIIMS on Sunday evening but couldn’t find my brother and his sons. Bodies arrived in batches from Balasore to AIIMS and other hospitals. I waited for the arrival of all the bodies. On Monday morning, I resumed my search. I was able to trace Tossif at the AIIMS morgue and Tafsir at a private hospital morgue. It was a bit challenging to identify Tafsir as his face was completely disfigured. It took me nearly an hour to identify him.”
Continuing his search for his brother’s body, Tanveer hopped on the motorcycle of one of the members of All India Payam-e-Insaniyat in the scorching heat. “It’s too hot in Bhubaneswar. But I have no option. I feel helpless. Thanks to All India Payam-e-Insaniyat for helping me a lot. I have visited three hospitals and now I am headed for the fourth one.”
Odisha development commissioner Anu Garg said: “In such a devastating tragedy, problems crop up in the identification of bodies. The state government, in coordination with railway and central government officials, is trying to resolve the issues. Help desks have been set up at each hospital and mortuary and all required help is being extended to the victims and their family members.”
Out of the 275 deaths, the state government has so far been able to identify 170 bodies. “The Odisha government has made arrangements for free transportation of the bodies by hearse,” chief secretary P.K. Jena said.