THE DAY IR MADE IRI FEEL PROUD
At exactly 6.30 pm on the 29th November, 2011, the following SOS post appeared in IRI.
“ pl arrange a doctor for a child travelling in gohati to new delhi rajdhani.... coach no b-2.at barauni station... “
One of the then admins G.Rajasekhar, immediately posted a CALLING ATTENTION notice at 6.35 pm
“Can...
more... any blogger be of help please. Seems to be an urgent request.“
He repeated it at 6.39 pm with yet another one
“Can we be of any help here.”
IRIs admins got into a tizzy and made frantic efforts to answer that SOS. While quite a number of admins got involved in the matter, our admin from Lumding, Apurba Jyoti Majumder, Membership No. 59194, played the lead role in rendering assistance to the distressed passenger(s). He pinged all his contacts at Barauni , including his uncle a TTE posted there , to attend to the medical emergency. Unfortunately, Apurba reported that, by the time his initiatives could bear fruit the Rajdhani had departed from that station or SO HE THOUGHT. Apurba then contacted Hajipur Station with a request to them to pitch in with their help.
Meanwhile, as there were no further updates or responses from the travelers, there was a gnawing doubt that this may be a PRANK. But then it was felt that it was better to take the matter seriously and go ahead rather than sit tight and do nothing. Even if that meant ending up with egg on our faces.
The outcome of Apurba’s initiatives could not be ascertained in the absence of any further information from the person who had sought help in the first instance.
By way of a long shot one of our admins called the office of the DRM Samastipur and provided details of the emergency. It was closing time there and the reaction was rather lukewarm. Finally all that emerged was a rather laconic response “ Hum log koshish karke dekhte hain ki is mamle may kya kiya jaye “
The matter ended there for the time being or so we thought. Like many others I, I too was following the proceedings live on IRI with anxiety.
After the matter had apparently died down, I left for my evening walk and returned almost an hour later at 8 pm. My wife then informed me that she had received a phone call from the office of the DRM Samastipur CONFIRMING THAT A DOCTOR HAS ATTENDED COACH B2 OF THE GUWAHATI-NEW DELHI RAJDHANI EXPRESS AT BARAUNI AND ADMINISTERED MEDICINE TO THE SICK CHILD. It was, they mentioned, a case of stomach upset tending to dehydration.
IT WAS A DAY ON WHICH IR & IRI WORKED IN TANDEM TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO A SICK PASSENGER AND THAT TOO A CHILD. MY TRIBUTES TO Apurba , Rajasekhar and all other members/admins who chipped in with their concern and empathy that evening .
PS. For further details of the episode kindly refer to the thread # 294325.
