Three injured as portion of platform shed at Charbagh station collapses

Lucknow: A portion of a platform shed at Charbagh railway station collapsed on Friday morning, injuring two passengers and a train ticket examiner (TTE).Railways ordered an inquiry and suspended the site engineer overseeing the redevelopment work at the station.The collapse occurred around 8am on platform 5 as passengers were waiting to board the Howrah-Doon Express (13037). Charbagh station is undergoing a major redevelopment project being executed by the Rail Land Development Authority, with construction activity underway across multiple platforms.Railway officials said the shed section that fell had been earmarked for removal as part of the modernisation plan. Platform 4, adjacent to the affected area, has been closed for passenger train operations since May 15 due to construction of an air concourse. Platform 5, however, remained operational at the time of the incident.A video recorded soon after the collapse showed Railway Protection Force personnel assisting in the rescue of a passenger and the TTE whose limbs were trapped under the heavy metal structure. The injured were identified as passengers Sahil and Abhishek, who were travelling to Haridwar, and TTE Bhupinder Singh.Northern Railway DRM Sunil Kumar Verma said platform 4 has been blocked for passenger trains until June 23, while platform 5 was in use when the shed portion gave way. “Unfortunately, a portion of the shed collapsed on Friday, injuring three people,” he said.Senior divisional commercial manager Samarth Gupta said all three injured persons are stable and received immediate medical attention. Sources said Bhupinder Singh suffered a fracture in his leg. Station director Gaurav Dixit said the two passengers sustained minor injuries, were discharged after treatment and were given ex gratia payments of Rs 5,000 each.Northern Railway headquarters said the site engineer has been suspended and a substantial penalty imposed on the agency responsible for the work. A committee has been formed to determine the cause of the collapse and assess compliance with safety protocols during the redevelopment.Meanwhile, considering the gravity of the incident, general manager NR Rajesh Kumar Pandey flew from New Delhi to tooe stock of the situation at Charbagh. Following a review meeting and inspection he said, “During the execution or implementation stage of some structures, we noticed certain deficiencies. While the matter is highly technical and requires deep investigation, it appears that during ongoing work on the platform, one or two structural members may have been removed by crane, which could have resulted, collapse of the portion of the platform shed, known as the cover over platform.”He said, “A heavy fine of Rs 50 lakh has been imposed on the contractor/executing agency. Furthermore, the project site engineer was suspended, and the official in charge from the project management consultancy was terminated from service.”