Odisha Train Accident: Jagan Reddy Announces Rs 10 Lakh Ex Gratia For Kin Of Deceased, Rs 5 Lakh For Injured

The ex-gratia amount has been announced in addition to the financial help extended by the Centre, the Chief Minister’s Office said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: In the wake of the devastating Odisha train accident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased, Rs 5 lakh to those who suffered serious injuries and Rs 1 lakh to those who sustained minor injuries. This amount has been announced in addition to the financial help extended by the Centre, the Chief Minister’s Office said.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh in case of death and Rs 2 lakh for those grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe into the train accident by an expert panel headed by a retired judge of the apex court. The PIL also seeks directions for the implementation of the KAVACH Protection System in Indian Railways with immediate effect to ensure public safety.

This comes as Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday that the root cause of the three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore district has been identified and the affected tracks will be restored for normal services by Wednesday.

The train crash, considered to be the fourth deadliest in India happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday.

At least 275 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident.

The Railway Minister was on the accident site for the second consecutive day when he said the issue pertains to point machine and electronic interlocking. The change that was done to electronic interlocking which led to the accident has been identified, Vaishnaw said while denying that the incident had anything to do with the anti-collision system Kavach.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Odisha's Balasore where the triple train accident occurred and took stock of the situation. He also visited a hospital and met with the injured victims. The PM said those found guilty in the matter will be punished stringently.