Passenger Dies Of Heart Attack On Vande Bharat, Outrage Over No Medical Help Onboard
The incident has reignited debate over the lack of medical staff on premium trains like Vande Bharat. Railways say doctors are generally not assigned to any train
The death of a passenger aboard the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express has sparked mounting questions and criticism over the Railways' handling of the situation.
According to the Times of India, 57-year-old Himadri Bhowmick, a resident of Dhakuria in south Kolkata, was traveling to Bhubaneswar on Wednesday in coach number C2, accompanied by his colleague Debarati Majumdar. Bhowmick, who owned an academic consultancy firm, had planned to meet someone in Bomikhal for a business discussion.
The train, usually scheduled to depart at 6 am, was delayed to 8 am due to maintenance issues caused by heavy overnight rains.
According to railway sources, a commercial department employee, who was serving as an on-board ticket checker, received information that a passenger in compartment C2 had fallen ill. At that time, the train had just left Cuttack station. Passengers alleged that the train had been standing for a long time before entering Cuttack.
'After the train left Cuttack, my colleague went to the washroom. When he returned, he started feeling uneasy and then fell unconscious. We tried to obtain an oxygen cylinder for him but could not arrange one. Train staff and RPF personnel reached the coach after some time. Some people performed CPR on Bhowmick," Majumdar was quoted as saying in the Times of India report.
Railway officials informed the passenger's companions that there was a railway hospital near Khurda Road station and arrangements were being made to take the patient there. However, the passenger's companion and fellow travellers began protesting loudly. Eventually, it was decided to take the passenger to doctors at Bhubaneswar station.
Incidentally, it takes 40 minutes to travel from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar, with six stations in between. The journey from Bhubaneswar to Khurda Road takes 18 minutes, with two stations in between.
Passengers questioned why the train couldn't have stopped at one of the many stations between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to arrange hospital care for the passenger. The Railways responded that the train is halted only where doctors and ambulances are available.
The train reached Bhubaneswar at 1:40 pm. 'We arranged for a private ambulance to transport him to the hospital. Unfortunately, doctors declared him 'brought dead' upon arrival. He had been on medication to manage his blood sugar levels," Majumdar stated.
After being pronounced dead at 2:55 pm, the body was moved to the mortuary. 'The hospital notified the police about the death. The body will be sent to Capital Hospital for a post-mortem in the presence of family members," a source informed Times of India.
Bhowmick's relatives were en route to Bhubaneswar. According to East Coast Railway sources, immediate action was taken to provide medical assistance to the passenger. 'RPF staff in Bhubaneswar accompanied them to the hospital," a source added.
This incident has sparked further debate on the absence of onboard medical staff on premium trains like the Vande Bharat Express. The railways maintain that doctors are not typically assigned to any train and that the events in the C2 coach can be reviewed through CCTV footage.
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