Balasore again? Anonymous letter threatens another Odisha-like train tragedy

It has been exactly a month since the Odisha triple-train tragedy in Balasore district, claiming over 290 lives, and the Indian Railways are reportedly on red alert again, per Times Now and Swarajya.

An anonymous letter received in the last week of June by the divisional manager of the South Central Railway (SCR) threatened an Odisha-like train tragedy on the Hyderabad–Delhi route in the first week of July.

Railway officials have informed Hyderabad police of the letter, and issued a red alert across all zones.

Deputy commissioner of police Chandana Deepti said on Monday, 3 July, that the police had received the information three days earlier and were investigating to identify the person who had sent the letter.

According to the findings of a high-level inquiry, a signalling error was the main reason behind the accident. The Commissioner of Railway Safety had ruled out any likelihood of sabotage or conspiracy behind the accident, though the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the accident from a possible criminal angle.

Meanwhile, SCR general manager (GM) Arun Kumar Jain on Monday, 3 July, conducted a safety review meeting with all the principal heads of departments.

Divisional railway managers (DRMs) of all six SCR divisions (Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntakal, Guntur and Nanded) joined the review meeting through video conferencing.

Jain has conducted a detailed review of workforce management, looking to the safety of operations and hassle-free movement of trains across the zone.

He instructed officials to strictly follow the established safety norms and to come up with new ideas for the best utilisation of available staff. He also asked officials to continue the safety drives across the zone and to step up safety inspections.

Separately, he also reviewed the availability of fire detection equipment and fire extinguishers on trains, on both AC and non-AC coaches.

He also instructed the DRMs to conduct regular inspections to ensure proper maintenance of assets with a view to both safety and improved punctuality.

With inputs from IANS