SM/Mundiyambakkam awarded with cash prize
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Alert guard averts major mishap
Guard T. Rajasekaran on the Salem-Chennai Express saved around 1,500 passengers of the Rockfort Express from certain disaster by alerting the Station Master at Perani after he felt a strong jolt and heard a loud blast from the bomb set off by suspected Tamil extremists near Perani early Saturday morning. The Station Master in turn warned driver Gopinath Rao of the Rockfort Express which was following the Salem train by some 10 minutes.
The Rockfort drivers slowed down the train, which was running at over 75 kmph, to around 10 kmph. They spotted the blown up section of track and brought the train to a halt barely a few feet from the blast site.
“I did my duty. I thank God,” Mr Rajasekaran told Deccan Chronicle in an interview at his Chennai house, explaining how the ‘strange jolt’ he felt made him suspect that something was amiss.
“An unusual sound accompanied the jolt, the impact of which was so strong that the train swayed a bit. I knew something had happened to the railway track,” he said.
“I immediately alerted the section controller and the Perani Station Master,” Mr Rajasekaran explained. “I revealed what happened and my observations to senior officials who are conducting an enquiry.”
Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai announced a cash award of Rs 5,000 each to four railway staff for preventing what would have been a major mishap.
The cash award will be given to Guard Mr Rajasekaran, Rockfort Express driver Mr. B. Gopinath, assistant driver Mr. Raj Kumar and Mundiyambakkam Station Master Mr. A. Thukkaram.
Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle (13-06-2010)
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P. Raja Rajeswaran
SM / Samudram / Madurai Division / SR
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