Uncle, I will always remember you!
– The youngest member of the tour group affected by the tragedy
After God saved us from this fire, we have been so well looked after by all of you. We are truly grateful. We hope we will have MLAs & Ministers like you in our state.
– Adult survivors
When tragedies occur, the humane, quintessentially Tamil response is to aid the victims as if they were members of our immediate family.
As a descendant of this magnanimous culture where helping people in distress is built into our DNA, as a former executive and administrator with decades of professional experience, as the MLA of the constituency where the tragedy occurred, and as a person who seeks to build bridges, I was gratified that I could do my part to the post-event recovery and relief efforts following the tragic fire which destroyed the entire compartment/coach in which a group of 64 tourists were traveling on a chartered pilgrimage tour, along with some employees of the tour operator.
Though I was in Chennai when the tragedy occurred, I happened to travel to Madurai on the same flight as Thiru R N Singh, the General Manager of the Southern Railways, who was also on his way to support the relief efforts. Traveling and working closely with him and his team (including the DRM, Madurai) over the rest of the day, we were able to combine the measures authorised by the Hon’ble CM @mkstalin, and the usual measures and resources of the IRCTC and Railways, to do our best to the survivors, as well as preserve the dignity and ensure the rapid return of the deceased to their homes.
For his help in releasing the mortal remains of the deceased in record time after post-mortem and inquest, I thank the Dean of the Madurai Medical College and Rajaji Hospital, and the Commissioner of Police, Madurai.
I thank the DIG CISF Chennai for his humanitarian role in ensuring the remains were sent quickly from Chennai to Lucknow, and for requesting that the Sr Comdt CISF ASG Lucknow help from his end to deliver them to the grieving families.
I also want to highly commend the Mayor of Madurai Corporation Mrs Indrani Ponvasanth, who personally led the many officers of the Corporation (starting with the CHO and the Medical Team who provided not just Medical Treatment but also psychological counselling using members of the tour party and staff of Southern Railways who could translate where needed) for providing triage, basic support, relief material, medicines and other help to the affected people – throughout the day, and up till their departure in batches over the next day.
We were even able to arrange a visit to the Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman temple for those devotees who requested one before their return by flight (arranged by the IRCTC) over the next 24 to 36 hours – as that was the reason for the tour to have come to Madurai in the first place.
I got to see off the last batch of about 20 survivors at the Airport, as they waited for their flight to New Delhi, and then onwards to Lucknow, the point of the tour’s origin. The quotations above, mentioned by them during that last send-off, were a timely reminder that compassion and empathy are the essence of humanity, and of public service. They transcend all boundaries of language, region, or culture.
Every crisis is a testing time. Every crisis also brings us together as one. Unlike some who look to exploit every development for propaganda & political gain, our millennia-old Tamil Culture always guides us to humane and thoughtful actions. A thorough investigation, and consequent actions to avoid the risk of such tragedies in the future, must be undertaken. I hope and trust the Railways will do so diligently.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
'India🇮🇳,
I reached my destination
and you too!'
: Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 has successfully
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#Chandrayaan_3#Ch3
சுர்ஜித் மீண்டு வரவேண்டும். நம்மால் முடிந்தது கண்ணீர் மல்கும் பிரார்த்தனைகள் மட்டுமே. அஜாக்ரதை அலட்சியம் இவை இந்த பொறுப்பற்ற சமூகத்தின் தொடர் பண்புகள் ஆகிவிட்டன. இது போன்ற குற்றங்கள் தொடராமல் இருக்க கடும் தண்டனையே தீர்வு.
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பொது நலத்துடன் விரேந்தர் ஷேவாக் வழங்குவது: பேடிஎம் டி20 டிராஃபி #INDvBAN இல் தோல்விக்கு இடமில்லை! 📢
தனது வெற்றி ஓட்டத்தை பங்களாதேஷ் உடனான T20I லும் தொடருமா இந்தியா? அறிய காணுங்கள்:
⏳: நவம்பர் 3, மாலை 6 மணி முதல்
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