In Balasore, local people perform rituals in memory of the dead

A memorial service and an all-faith prayer meeting has also been planned from Monday for 288 people who died in the accident and rapid recovery of those injured. Bodies of 81 unidentified victims are yet to be cremated.

A train runs past derailed coaches in Balasore. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

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Nearly hundred local residents who had taken part in the rescue operation following the train accident at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2 tonsured their head and observed ‘Dasaha’ programme [to mark the 10th day after death] as per Hindu death rituals on Sunday to pay tribute to the deceased.

A memorial service and an all-faith prayer meeting has also been planned from Monday for 288 people who died in the accident and rapid recovery of those injured. Bodies of 81 unidentified victims are yet to be cremated.

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People from different walks of life, including representatives of spiritual organisations, participated in the memorial service held near Bahanaga High School, where bodies were kept initially before they were taken to a temporary morgue in Balasore, and subsequently to Bhubaneswar.

CBI senior officials during inspection at Bahanagar Bazar railway station. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

“We tried to rescue them but could not save their lives. We may not be their family members, but we feel the pain of losing them. As we perform different rituals when someone from our family dies, we have decided to perform the same rituals [for those who died in the accident],” said Santosh Samal, a resident of Soro, a city in Balasore district.

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Jayakrushna Sarangi, a member of the organising committee, said they have planned a Biswa Shanti Maha Yajna (havan for world peace) that will continue until Tuesday. People from all communities have been invited for the mass prayer programme, Sarangi said.