ARIYALUR: It’s a tragedy that remains etched in people’s memory for more than one reason. On this day (November 23) 66 years ago, a train with 800 passengers plunged into Marudaiyaru River just two miles from Ariyalur railway station, killing 144 people and injuring hundreds more. Several passengers went missing. As is his wont, Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then railway minister in PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet, resigned taking moral responsibility.
Local social activists now want a plaque to be installed at the station in memory of those who perished on that fateful night in 1956. Speaking to TNIE, an 86-year-old P Rajangam of Ramalingapuram in Perambalur said, “I was 20 when the accident happened. My house was just 800 metres from the spot. I was in deep sleep when the sudden rattling noise of crashing steel jolted me out of my slumber.
Someone told me a train had fallen into the river and I rushed there. The river was in full flow. But since it was dark, several passengers mistook it for sand and jumped into the river. Hundreds had a watery grave. Scores went missing and their bodies could not be traced. Just half an hour before the Thoothukudi Express crash, another train had crossed the bridge. There was continuous heavy rain for more than four hours on the fateful night before the accident. Something should have been done in memory of those lives,” he said.
According to reports, the train, which had left Chennai Egmore at 9.30 pm the previous night, plunged into the river around 4.30 am. The river was in spate due to the heavy downpour all through the night and the pillars of the old bridge between Ariyalur and Kallagam railway stations were damaged by the gushing water.
The train had departed from Egmore with 800 passengers in 13 coaches. One coach was detached from the train at Virudhachalam station for being taken to Salem. Water in the Marudaiyaru River was almost touching the tracks of the bridge. The train’s steam engine and seven coaches fell into the river after the bridge crashed around 4.30 am. About 200 passengers had gone missing.
G Karthik Kumar of Ariyalur said, “I’m reminded of the accident every November. Every year, around this time, people start talking about the tragedy. Some people also visit the spot. The railway department or the district administration should come forward to install a tablet to mark the tragedy.” When contacted, both Ariyalur Collector P Ramana Saraswathi and Perambalur Collector P Sri Venkada Priya said they would check and take action on the request.”