Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Wednesday described the roof collapse on Platform-1 of Cuttack Railway Station as “unfortunate” and blamed the railway department and contractor for negligence.
The party demanded a thorough probe into the incident and strict action against those responsible. The party alleged that the prolonged and sluggish pace of modernisation and repair work at the busy station has been causing severe inconvenience to passengers. It said today’s incident exposed serious lapses in supervision of the ongoing construction.
Soon after the mishap, Choudwar-Cuttack BJD MLA Souvic Biswal, Cuttack Mayor Subash Singh, and district BJD president Prafulla Singh visited the site, inspected the damage, and oversaw rescue operations. Biswal demanded immediate completion of the long-pending construction works, while Mayor Singh blamed the contractor’s reckless attitude for the accident.
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He noted that one person had been injured and hospitalised, and urged the railway department to prevent such incidents in future. Singh said it was only by the grace of Lord Jagannath that a major tragedy was averted, as the Vande Bharat Express had crossed the platform just minutes before the collapse.