A full-scale mock exercise was organized at Ajni Yard on November 23, 2023, under the guidance of Divisional Railway Manager Tushar Kant Pandey and Senior Divisional Security Officer Mr. Vijay Kumar Pandey. The event aimed to assess the skill set of railway employees and the quality of available resources, as per the directives of the Railway Board.
During the course of the exercise, a simulated incident involving the derailment and fire in some coaches of the 02853 Malda Town – Surat Express Special train was presented. In response to this emergency, a joint mock exercise was conducted by the Railway Rescue Team, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), and the Civil Defence team.
In this scenario, the teams effectively collaborated to rescue passengers from the accident-affected train. The incident involved the derailment of some coaches and a fire in one coach of the train. Apart from the railway teams, NDRF and Civil Defence teams were called in for assistance. They, along with the state police and Nagpur Fire Brigade, successfully rescued 1 deceased, 5 critically injured, and 4 mildly injured passengers from the simulated accident.
Receiving information about the incident, the Divisional Railway Manager and senior officers promptly reached at incident spot to assess the situation and coordinate rescue efforts. The teams, including NDRF, Civil Defence, state police, and Nagpur Fire Brigade, quickly gained control over the simulated fire in the coach.
The Divisional Railway Manager personally interacted with the injured passengers, assured them of assistance, and provided all possible help. The railway administration facilitated ex gratia payments to the injured passengers and issued special railway passes for their relatives to reach the destination.
In conclusion, Senior Divisional Security Officer Mr. Vijay Kumar Pandey declared the simulated incident as a fictional emergency.
The program was attended by Chief Medical Officer Dr. G.S. Manjunath, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer Mr. P.S. Khairkar, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer (Technical) Mr. Rupesh Chandekar, and various other officers and supervisors from different departments.
The entire program’s outline was prepared under the guidance of Senior Divisional Security Officer Mr. Vijay Kumar Pandey and Assistant Divisional Security Officer Mr. Kamlesh Kumar, with the assistance of Mr. H.S. Raghuvanshi.
