Bahanaga train tragedy: Mangled coaches, engine of Coromandel Express go under hammer

Following a recent court order, the mangled coaches and engine of Coromandel Express at the mishap site at Bahanaga in Balasore went under the hammer for Rs 3.82 crore. A Kolkata-based company after winning the auction has started dismantling the coaches and mangled parts of the express on Saturday. 

As per the report, Mohit Steels at Howrah has engaged over 60 workers to dismantle the damaged coaches by cutting them with gas cutters while these scraps are being shifted to Howrah under the scrapping policy. The process will be completed by December 5, 2023, sources said.

It is said that the dismantling work has been in full swing and it will take more than a month to finish the process. The scraps will be shifted to the yard of the company at Howrah.

Since the tragedy, the mangled and twisted bogies, which are testimony to the tragedy, have been reminding local people of the horrible heart-wrenching scenes that unfolded for days together at the sight.         

Notably, Coromandel Express, Yesvantpur-Howrah Express and wagons of the goods train were involved in the train tragedy near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore on June 2. The tragedy claimed at least 288 lives.  

As for the dismantling work, Sitaram Singh, a supervisor of Mohit Steels at the site, said that the company has engaged about 60 people to cut the coaches and engine into pieces. He added that the work will take more than a month and scraps will be carried through goods trains or road transport. 

ALSO READ: Bahanaga train mishap: Court allows auction of mangled coaches, wagons, engine 

On October 17, hearing a petition, the court of Additional Sessions Judge (II), Bhubaneswar, had ordered the auction of the 21 mangled coaches and wagons, including an engine.

The petitioner was the senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, SE Railway, Kharagpur and the opposite party was the CBI. 

According to the counsel of the petitioner, Udit Ranjan Jena, the damaged coaches and engines were no longer required for investigation, because a charge sheet had been filed and the record submitted to the court for trial.