On 8 June 1988, the Trivandrum-bound Bangalore Island Express derailed at Peruman Bridge causing the death of 105 people and injuring 200; two of the nine coaches that fell into the Ashtamudi Lake turned upside down. It was a tragedy beyond words and big news for the media. I was then the director of television centre, Doordarshan, at Trivandrum.
When the news broke, a seasoned cameraman Henry and team rushed to the venue. We had to telecast the visuals in the evening news bulletin at 7.30 besides feeding the visuals to Delhi for the national bulletin. We had to feed the visuals through the telecom department’s microwave station, at Pongummoodu, using our playback machines. To use the service beyond office hours, we had to book it in advance. The cost was high and beyond my powers. Whatever be the challenges, if we fail to telecast the visuals, we would be failing the organisation!
A stringer returning from another coverage gave the initial footage. Then, the camera team sent the first set of visuals at the nick of time, and gory visuals were used just “as received”. Unedited footage was fed to Delhi and the national news bulletin carried the story as the main headline with, “unedited footage as received from Trivandrum”. It was a big achievement. Encomia poured in for visuals.
The railway minister arrived early morning. We covered him extensively. The MP from Kollam constituency, minister of state for information and broadcasting was peeved as the railway minister hogged the limelight! The Kerala CM announcing relief measures was also covered with the condolence statements of other dignitaries.
My gratification turned to a nightmare with a call from the Raj Bhavan! The Kerala governor (earlier a minister of state for information and broadcasting) started shouting at the top of her voice, “Do you know protocol?” She said her condolence message must have been the first story! I was “ordered” to personally explain the “mistake” the next day at 11.00 am.
The next day, I rang up Bhaskar Ghose, the best Director General that DD ever had. He commended the team work. I told him about the governor’s ire. He directed that I did not have to go and asked me to inform that I was waiting for permission from the DG for which a request has been sent. He said that as per procedure, if I had to meet the governor with an explanation, I should get an approval from the DG to whom I report! I received a telex message accordingly and I informed the Raj Bhavan and there ended my ordeal for doing a good job.