A top badminton player from the city, Trinankur Nag (24), who worked in Eastern Railway’s Sealdah car shed and feared the job requiring operation of high tension overhead wire might lead to a fatal accident some day, died this morning, two days after he was electrocuted on duty.
Trinankur is the top ranking doubles badminton player and ranks 11 in singles from Bengal.
His father Tapan Nag said he and his son had pleaded with the authorities for the past five years to transfer him from the technical to the commercial section, but to no avail.
Trinankur, an only child of his parents, got the Eastern Railway job in 2013 November. He joined on November 6 that year, his father Tapan Nag said. However, against his wishes, Trinankur was posted in the technical section and not the commercial section of the Eastern Railway. “He did not have any technical expertise. And that’s why he feared all the more that he could meet with an accident while on duty. For the past five years, we have written to almost all the top bosses of the Eastern Railway and even to former union minister of state for railways Adhir Chowdhury, seeking his transfer elsewhere,” Tapan Nag said.
Trinankur was first posted in Kanchrapara, then Ranaghat and eventually at the Sealdah car shed. For every posting, since the job was technical, Trinankur was worried there might be an accident due to his lack of expertise in the job. And his worst fears came true when he was electrocuted on November 24 evening from an overhead wire, and was admitted to the BR Singh Hospital in Sealdah. He died this morning.
Trinankur had ranked sixth nationally as a junior player. He has represented India internationally, in Mauritius Open. He has been state champion for several years, and performed brilliantly since 2003 when he started as a junior player.
Eastern Railway chief public relations officer, Ravi Mahapatra said that those recruited on sports quota were given postings according to the vacancies available. “At that time, a person has the choice of either taking it up or refusing the posting if s/he thinks it is too technical to work,” Mahapatra said. He added that a person without technical expertise is given the job in the sports quota with the hope that s/he might acquire the skill through experience. “It is very sad. Our man died, we feel for the family,” he said.
