Mamata sends 7 rly officials on leave

Mamata sends 7 rly officials on leave
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Dec 4: Seven senior railway officers have been asked to proceed on leave forthwith to facilitate an "impartial and unbiased" inquiry into the Punjab rail accident in which 43 people were killed, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced in the Lok Sabha today.

"....I have decided that in order to facilitate an impartial and unbiased inquiry, seven senior officers .......are being asked to proceed on leave forthwith", Mamata said in a suo motu statement amid demands from Opposition especially Left and RJD members that there should be a discussion on the mishap.

She said the officers who have been asked to proceed on leave included Chief Engineer and Chief Track Engineer of Northern Railway, Chief Motive Power Engineer (Running), Northen Railway, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, Senior Divisional Safety Officer, Ambala and concerned Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer and Senior Divisional Engineer.

Soon after her statement, CPI-members led by Basudeb Acharia demanded her resignation saying that she should own moral responsibility for the tragedy.

They also demanded that Mamata owed an explanation to the House over the inordinate delay in her reaching the accident site.

Contesting the stand taken by Speaker G M C Balayogi that the issue could not be discussed since a judicial inquiry has been ordered, Acharia said the matters relating to such serious accidents have always been discussed in the past despite inquiries.

In her statement, Mamata said a statutory inquiry into the accident has already been started by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle. Stating that accidents of this nature always shook the confidence of the common people on the railway system, she said that she had a firm belief that accidents are normally due to some failures.

"Therefore, I would like to assure the House that based on the findings of the inquiry, exemplary action will be taken against those found responsible for this accident, howsoever highly placed they may be", Mamata said.

Mamata said that so far 20 bodies have been identified.

Of the injured, one was in a critical condition. Fortyfour passengers were discharged after giving first aid.

Narrating the sequence, she said at around 05.35 am on December two, ten minutes after passing Sadhoogarh, 15 wagons of the foodgrains special derailed, two of them moving to the upline.

Immediately thereafter, the Howrah Amritsar Mail moving on the upline collided with the derailed wagons.

The Minister announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs two lakh to the families of those who have been killed in the accident and Rs one lakh each to those who are admitted in various hospitals.

She also announced that one job to a family member of those who lost their life in this accident would be offered.

Besides, compensation as admissible will be paid to them by the Railway Claims Tribunal of amounts varying from Rs 32,000 to Rs four lakh based on extent of incapacitation due to injuries Rs four lakh compensation is paid in case of death.