BHOPAL: Timely action by Railway employees in Madhya Pradesh saved the life of a cancer patient who was in need of medical oxygen while travelling on board the Rajdhani Express, an official said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, when the railway employees along with a doctor attended to the 67-year-old man after the New Delhi-bound train made an unscheduled stop at Itarsi station, he said.
Balakram, a cancer patient, boarded the 22221 Rajdhani Express from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai) for Hazrat Nizamddin (Delhi), the official said.
The man's condition turned very serious during the journey and he desperately needed oxygen support.
At that time the train had crossed Maharashtra's Jalgaon town and the next scheduled stop was Bhopal, he said.
Balakram's family then somehow managed to message the divisional commercial controller office alerting them about the situation, the official said.
Taking note of the matter, senior divisional commercial manager-II RK Parashar directed the railway staff to stop the train at Itarsi, and as the train chugged into the station, a team of officials along with Dr Shubham posted in Itarsi railway hospital attended to the patient in the train itself and provided an oxygen cylinder, he said By the time the train reached Bhopal, the railway authorities there had already arranged for an ambulance and stretcher.
Since the condition of the patient was deteriorating, his family decided to alight at Bhopal, following which the railway staff shifted him to Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital, the official said.
Lauding the efforts of the railway staff, divisional railway manager (DRM) Saurabh Bandopadhyay said, "Because of the alert staff, the railways has maintained a good image among the people. It inspires us to work with full dedication and honesty."
Recently, a 26-day-old critically ill boy, who was running short of oxygen, got help at the Bhopal railway station, when he was taken to Delhi from Nagpur for treatment.
After getting messages of help on social media, people of Bhopal arrived with oxygen cylinders to save the infant at the railway station here.