Kanchenjungha Express Accident: Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda expressed his condolences on Monday to the families of those who lost their lives in the train accident in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. He criticised the railway accidents stating that it is the result of "mismanagement" and the Central government's "negligence" towards the railways.
At least 15 people lost their lives and about 60 were injured after the collision between the goods train and the Sealdah-bound Kanchenjungha Express on Monday morning near New Jalpaiguri, a senior North Frontier Railway (NFR) official said, as per news agency PTI.
"On behalf of the Congress Party, we pay our condolences. We pray for the speedy recovery of all those injured. The increase in railway accidents in the last 10 years is a result of the mismanagement and negligence of the Central Government towards the railways. Due to this, the lives of passengers are being lost every day," Hooda stated, as quoted by news agency ANI.
The Congress leader continued to say that the opposition will keep raising concerns about this carelessness and will ask the government in Parliament for clarification.
"As a responsible opposition, we will continue to question this negligence and will seek answers from the government in Parliament as well. Along with this, as our national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have appealed to our Congress workers in their statements to ensure that Congress workers contribute as much as possible in relief work," he added.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose departed for Bagdogra to visit all those who were injured during the accident.
Goods Train Hit Kanchenjunga Express: PRO
The accident took place at Ruidhasa near Rangapani station in the Katihar Railway Division ahead of New Jalpaiguri Junction at around 8:45 am today. This area comes under the Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district.
The Kanchenjungha Express which runs between Silchar in Assam to Sealdah in Kolkata was heading from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah when the goods train hit it from behind, according to Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer - Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
When a goods train hit a wagon of the Kanchenjunga Express train at Ruidhasa, close to Rangapani station, in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, the wagon became suspended in the air.
Meanwhile, rescue operations are underway to rescue the stranded. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and police are also present at the site in Ruidhasa in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal where the accident took place.