PERUMON TRAGEDY

PERUMON TRAGEDY

VICTIM’s REMEMBERED-2012

The 24th anniversary of the Perumon train accident, which claimed 105 lives, was observed on Sunday at the Perumon Smrithi Mandapam by the side of the Perumon railway bridge where the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Island Express from Bangalore had derailed and fell into the Ashtamudi Lake.Addressing a meeting after paying floral tributes at the mandapam, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said that the government would soon sanction in-patient facilities at the Perumon Primary Health Centre. He said this had been a longstanding demand of the people of Perumon. He said it is unfortunate that even after 24 years, Railways were unable to find the accident’s cause. The Minister inaugurated a free homeopathy medical camp at the site of the mandapam by giving medicines to Koduvila Sasi, who played a lead role in the rescue operations when the accident happened.

Septuagenarian Santhamma from Uliyakovil in Kollam city who lost her son in the accident was among those who paid tributes at the smrithi mandapam. She had visited the mandapam during the past 23 anniversaries too.The commemoration meeting was organised by the Indian Red Cross Society, the Kadappal Nursing Home, the Friends of Birds and the Kerala Prathikarana Vedi. The meeting was addressed by K. Shaji, Mangad Subin Narayanan, J. Chinchurani, Paravur Saheeb and several others. Earlier in the day P.K. Gurudasan MLA offered tributes at the smrithi mandapam. In the Peruman Train Tragedy, the BANGALORE  - KANYAKUMARI ISLAND EXPRESS  train derailed on the Peruman bridge over  Ashtamudi Lake, near Perinadu,  Kollam,Kerala  India and fell into the lake, killing 105 people on July 8, 1988. Officials say the cause for the accident was a tornado. But still the cause of accident remains a mystery. Ten bogie carriages of the Island Express fell into Ashtamudi Lake, and more than 200 persons were seriously injured. The Peruman Train Tragedy is one of the largest train tragedies   in the history of the Indian state of Kerala.  Indian Railway constructed a new bridge across the lake. The old bridge remains in memorial of the Peruman Tragedy. On July 8, 2008 the government of Kerala and the relatives paid homage at the crash site.

Prof. John Kurakar