Ranchi/Jamshedpur/Dhanbad, May 28: A possible Maoist sabotage that left 80 on board the Mumbai-bound Jnaneswari Express dead early today prompted the railway board to impose a ban on the movement of passenger trains in the Kharagpur-Rourkela and Kharagpur-Adra sections of South Eastern Railway (SER) between 10pm and 5am.

The ban, which came into immediate effect, will continue till June 1.

The decision is likely to affect over half a dozen mail and express trains that travel via Tatanagar. The list includes Howrah-Pune Azad Hind Express, Howrah-Porbandar Express, Mumbai-Mail and Howrah-Hatia Express used frequently by commuters to and from the state capital.

“We received the circular this afternoon. Affected trains will not be cancelled, but will be rescheduled,” said an official in Chakradharpur.

The Jnaneswari derailment, on the other hand, snapped the transport lifeline of steel city Jamshedpur, which had its wings clipped (read air link) last year. Favourites across households, the morning Steel Express and the evening Ispat Express, were cancelled, leaving regulars stranded.

Several other trains in the Chakradharpur, Ranchi and Dhanbad divisions were cancelled too, while a couple of trains remained stranded for hours at Ghatshila.

DGP Neyaz Ahmed has prodded intensified patrolling along railway tracks in the wake of the attack on Jnaneswari and Palamau SP in Manatu. He has also convened a meeting of senior railway officials tomorrow. “Necessary precautions are being taken. We will not give up. Our fight against rebels will continue,” he told The Telegraph.

As train schedules went haywire, chaos reigned supreme at Tatanagar station as passengers agitated for refund of tickets. Railway officials were swamped with queries from passengers, many of whom had to cancel their plans. Helpdesks have been set up at Tatanagar, Chakradharpur and Jharsuguda and 24-hour helplines floated at Tatanagar and Chakradharpur.

Tatanagar station manager A.K. Agarwal said normal traffic was expected only tomorrow. “The up and down lines will remain affected till midnight. Rescue operations are still on in Bengal,” he said.

Agarwal said a relief train was headed for Jhargram. Area manager, Tatanagar, Satyam Prakash, is on board the train carrying food, water and medicines. Chakradharpur DRM Ravindra Gupta and SER general manager A.P. Mishra have reached Bengal.

Tatanagar loses loco driver

Jamshedpur: An assistant loco pilot from Tatanagar was among the 80 dead in the train tragedy in the Kharagpur-Jhargram section. A guard was also injured.
Niranjan Singh (35) was on the Tatanagar-Kharagpur goods train that hit the derailed coaches of Jnaneswari Express. The injured is Nirbhay Kumar, also from Tatanagar. As the news of the death trickled in, angry railway employees at Tatanagar started protesting. They congregated under the aegis of All India Running Staff Association and submitted a memorandum to DRM of Chakradharpur and SER general manager, calling for more security in trains passing through Maoist strongholds. They also demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for Singh’s family.

Success diary

The CBSE Class X grading system made a celebratory debut in Jharkhand this year. Of 30,600 students from the state who took the exam, results of which were declared on Friday, 89.9 per cent cleared it, as against last year’s 88.7 per cent. The Telegraph salutes bravehearts who scored mighty well in the exam of lifeThe CBSE Class X grading system made a celebratory debut in Jharkhand this year. Of 30,600 students from the state who took the exam, results of which were declared on Friday, 89.9 per cent cleared it, as against last year’s 88.7 per cent. The Telegraph salutes bravehearts who scored mighty well in the exam of life

Pawan Kumar (Ranchi)

Financial hardships never came in the way of his will to win challenges. This Oxford Public School student has scored A1 (90 per cent and above) in five subjects in his CBSE Class X exam and attributes his success to his unemployed father, Sumant Kumar, a former railway employee. The resident of Krishnapuri Chutia is largely selftaught.

“My father lost his job in 2002. We could never afford expensive tutorials. But I did not give up and studied on my own. I assured my worried parents that I would succeed,” Pawan said, adding that he devoted 16 hours daily to prepare for the board exam. Promise kept, the teen now wants to pursue higher studies in science. “One day, I will fulfil my father’s dream and clear IIT-JEE,” he said.

Ganga S. Namdhari (Ranchi)

Disabled since an accident in Class VII, getting good grades in CBSE Class X exam was no cakewalk for this student of DAV Public School, Hehal. But buoyed by selfconfidence and constant encouragement from his family members, Ganga Singh scored A1 in social science, A2 (81-90 per cent) in Sanskrit and science and B1 (71-80 per cent) in English and mathematics, A2 grade in science and A1 grade in social science. He notched a total grade point of 8.8. “I was always optimistic and that is my little secret,” said the Harmu resident and one of the 1,891 special children who took the exam from across the country this year. Ganga’s mother Sweena was elated.

“My only wish is to see him achieve all goals in life,” she said. According to family sources, the boy lost his power to walk due to medical negligence after a fracture. But misfortune hasn’t taken a toll on his determination and confidence. “I want to be an IAS and will take up commerce in plus two,” he said.

Abhishek Kumar (Jamshedpur)

Son of the soil — and a farmer — this student of DAV Public School, Adityapur, has thumbed his nose at adversities to notch a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 9.8 in his CBSE Class X exam. Abhishek’s parents are based in a village in Sitamarhi, Bihar. He left them at the age of six and came to live with his grandfather in Adityapur.

“My parents could not leave our ancestral land and I wanted to study hard,” the teen said,
recalling the family’s tough decision.

“I always dreamt of pursuing my studies at IIT and becoming a civil engineer,” he said, hoping to crack the IIT-JEE within the next two-three years. DAV principal S.P. Sharma was all praises for Abhishek.

“He is a humble but intelligent boy. Despite financial constraints, he has come out with flying colours,” Sharma said.