71-year-old man faints on train, ignored for 16 hours

TIMES OF INDIA

Chennai: Call it the weariness of the urban commuters or a callous overlook a 71-year-old man travelling on Kovai Express on Wednesday is battling for life after lying unattended for more than 16 hours in the rake's passageway in front of a toilet.

Due to get down at Erode after boarding from Chennai, MVenkatachalam lay on the floor of the train even as it made its return journey to Chennai from Coimbatore the same day.

Neither railway staff nor co-passenger came to his rescue. Lying between the two toilets in D9 coach, Venkatachalam came to the notice of a travelling ticket examiner, Nihal Singh near Tirupur, when he found Venkatachalam's phone ringing repeatedly but going unattended. The calls were being made by his sons fromMogappair in Chennai when the train was on its return leg.

Around 10:30pm at Chennai Central, Venkatachalam's family was shocked to find him lying in front of the toilets with a bleeding nose and rushed him to the Apollo emergency medical care. He was later shifted to Billroth hospital where he is in the ICU.

What has shocked Venkatachalam's sons is that no railway staff or TTE or cleaning staff or co-passenger came to his aid while he was lying right outside toilet all the time. "He must have been mistaken for a beggar or a drunkard. People actually stomped on him while going to the toilet. My father was dressed in a sparkling white shirt and veshti, but it seems to have been used for people to clear their footwear after coming out of the toilets," said his son V Umaanath, a media executive.

Umaanath had packed breakfast for Venkatachalam and it was lying intact even after 16 hours. He had informed his wife that he would come home for lunch. But Tuesday night's dinner was the last meal he had for more than 24 hours.

A Southern Railway spokesperson said Kovai Express is checked by maintenance staff at Coimbatore station before it begins return journey. Railway Protection Force officers said finding unconscious people in toilet at Egmore station or yard is a regular affair for them . "It is a sorry state of affairs. Any attentive TTE or cleaning staff could have spotted my father and he could have been admitted to a hospital at least 8-9 hours earlier. There is a separate marking for senior citizens on the reservation chart and the railway staff could have given some special attention," Umaanath said.

Venkatachalam had the usual age-related ailments like low blood pressure but staying without food for more than 24 hours might have put him under immense stress, Umaanath said.