‘Still haunts’: Odisha villagers observe mass tonsuring for train mishap victims
The villagers at Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district said that the victims’ desperate cries to save them during the accident still haunt them
The villagers at Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district, where a triple-train accident killed 288 passengers on June 2, started a three-day memorial service for the victims on Sunday, the 10th day of the tragedy, beginning with a mass tonsuring programme as part of Hindu rituals.
Jayakrushna Sarangi, a local person from Bahanaga and a member of the organising committee, said that over 200 people tonsured their heads near a pond and took bath as it is an important part of the 10th day rites. “We decided to hold rituals for a period of 3 days for the salvation of the deceased souls. This was necessary as many people died untimely death and their desperate cries to save them during the accident still haunt us. We will also light 5,008 earthen diyas (lights) in their memory,” said Sarangi.
At the Bahanaga school where bodies of 211 deceased were kept soon after the accident, the local people held a mass feast on Sunday afternoon for over 10,000 people. Sarangi said that as local people were the first responders after the tragedy, they felt the loss of lives to be their own. “We are yet to get over the loss and it would take a lot of time to get over the massive tragedy,” he said.
From Monday onwards, an Astaprahar NamaYajna (24-hour Hare Krishna chanting) will be held along with Biswa Shanti Maha Yajna (for world peace). A Sarva Dharma Prarthana Sabha (mass prayer of different religions) and chanting of veda from 10 m onwards have also been planned. Members of Gayatri families from four districts have already arrived for ‘mantra japa’.
Ramahari Sethi, an official in the local court, said on Monday that maulvis have been invited for holding prayer meeting for the deceased people. “We do not know the religion of many of the deceased. So we are making it an all-religion ritual. Pastors from local church also have been invited for the prayer,” he said.
