BENGALURU: To tend to the medical needs of a five-year-old girl who was to travel by the Duronto Express (Yeshwanthpur to Howrah), the start of the train was delayed by 27 minutes at Yeshwanthpur railway station on Sunday morning.
Delaying a train for an individual is a rare occurrence and a display of laudable humanitarianism by railway officials. A top railway source said that the child Jayanab who was to travel by A1 Coach suffered breathing issues. "An oxygen cylinder was arranged for her. The train suffered a detention because of this," he said.
Train no. 02246, which generally departs at 11 am, left only at 11.27 am, he added.
According to an eyewitness Kedarnath Reddy, who is the owner of Krishi Rail, a private transporter of perishable cargo from the station, "A girl was brought from hospital to the station to travel by this train. She seemed to develop breathing problems. She was put on a stretcher and breathing apparatus were provided to her. Only after her breathing was restored to normalcy, she was taken on board the train and it departed."
Reddy tweeted a video of the incident lauding the railway team at SWR Bengaluru for the assistance offered to the ailing kid. Top railway officials did not respond in connection with the incident despite repeated calls.