Congress Leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury visited Balasore, Odisha, where a tragic train accident recently occurred, and expressed his gratitude to the armed forces, NDRF, ODRAF, local administration, people, and volunteers for their efforts in the ongoing rescue and relief operations. The accident resulted in 288 deaths and over 1,000 injuries, after 21 coaches of Coromandel Express and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express derailed.
Chowdhury, a former Minister of State of Railways, criticized the government’s lack of preparedness for such incidents, and said, All these arrangements are being made after the incident. I am not saying that efforts are not being made but all this is being done after the incident.” He added that if the administration had shown such readiness before the tragedy, it may have been averted.
Chowdhury was accompanied by party leader A. Chella Kumar, who were both deputed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to visit the accident site and assess the situation.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been present at the accident site since Saturday, said that the root cause of the accident had been identified during an inquiry by the Commissioner of Rail Safety. In compliance with the instruction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inspected the site on Saturday, restoration work was going on in full swing, he added.
According to the South Eastern Railway (SER), all 21 coaches that capsized and derailed have been grounded, and the site is being cleared from bogie/wheel sets and other components.
