By Purushottam Nayak
Balasore, June 6, 2023: The head of the Catholic Church in Odisha has appealed Christians to donate blood for the survivors of the triple train tragedy in the eastern Indian state.
“I appeal to Christians and youth to donate blood for the needs of the cause at the earliest possible,” says Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, chairman of the Odisha Catholic Bishop’s Council (OCBC).
The Divine Word prelate also expressed his “deepest sympathy and unwavering support” to the victims of the June 2 train accident that killed 275 people and wounded 1,175 others.
Pope Francis was among those who expressed sorrow at the Odisha tragedy. The Pope said he was “deeply saddened” by the “immense loss of life” caused by three-train collision in what is considered the country’s deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years.
Archbishop Barwa prayed for “the speedy recovery” of those undergoing treatment, after visiting the victims in the government hospital in Balasore, 195 km northeast of Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha.
Bishop Niranjan Sualsingh of Sambalpur, OCBC secretary, termed the accident as a national tragedy. “So many innocent lives are lost. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. We pray to the Almighty that the souls of the dead may rest in peace and that the injured may be healed soon. May God give consolation to the bereaved families,” Bishop Sualsingh added.
The Bishop thanked volunteers “who have selflessly helped the injured and carried the dead to safe places. We also thank the leaders of the nation and the civil authorities for taking swift action in shifting the injured to hospitals and the dead to their loved ones.”
Father Saji Karathankal, parish priest of the Balasore cathedral quoted reliable sources to say no dead body is kept in Balasore. “All the bodies are shifted from here. Injured patients are only 17 in the General Hospital. They’re local residents. Relief works have stopped. In the beginning Jyothi Hospital and the BSSS (Balasore Social Service Society) were involved in the supply of medical care and food.”
Local parish youth were involved in shifting dead bodies. Some Catholic young people remained on the road with others as volunteers to help in the smooth running of ambulances and assist in the hospital, Father Karathankal said.
Father Isaac Puthenangady, the administrator of Balasore diocese, and Father Dibya Parichha, the chancellor of Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, reached out to the survivors in the Government Hospital of Balasore to console and share solidarity with them.
Immediately after the accident, the BSSS responded to a request from the district emergency department, and reached the accident site where bodies were stored –Business centre and Bahanaga High School. Its volunteers went there with 500 bed sheets to cover the bodies, 7.000 masks and glows for the volunteers working with corpses, its director Father Roy Kochupurackal told Matters India.
“We also took with us dry food and water for thousands waiting to recognize the bodies. That brought great relief not only to the relatives, but the volunteers who worked under the scorching sun. The BSSS staff made a stall and distributed the food materials to the people in need,” Kochupurackal added.
In the following days, the BSSS team distributed cooked food to the crowd at the District Headquarter Hospital. It served at least 995 people with cooked food on June 3 and 4.
The BSSS decided to end the service after serious patients were shifted to Bhubaneswar and unidentified bodies were removed to Cuttack for disposal. However, it remained prepared to help if any request came from those in the emergency department and other civil society organizations, Father Kochupurackal said.