Rly. Min. should own up mishap, says Jagan

Puttaparthi, Dec 28 : Demanding the Centre and Railway Ministry to own up the responsibility for the train accident which claimed 26 lives of passengers of the Bengaluru-Nanded Express, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the Government should be more accountable and transparent by making the public know about the action it has taken after every accident instead of setting up Commission, paying ex-gratia and washing the hands off.

The YSRCP President who visited the accident site at Kothacheruvu near here, told reporters that this is the third accident in a space of 16 months where compartments caught fire and the Government has failed to rectify the errors nor tell the reasons for the mishap or the steps initiated to instill confidence among the passengers.

“This is the third train accident, first being on May 21, 2012 at Penukonda and the second being near Nellore on July 30 and this is the third one in close frequency. The government has failed totally in handling the safety measures which is why there is a recurrence of mishaps of the same nature.

Every time an accident takes place, the Government sets up an Inquiry Commission and the Report, technical or otherwise, is not kept in public domain nor does the Railway Ministry speak out as to what were the reasons for the accident and the steps that were initiated to plug the loopholes.

It just washes its hands off by constituting a commission and announcing ex-gratia but has no concern about the passengers and takes no measures to boost their confidence. We demand that the Centre should own up the responsibility for the accident and tell the reasons for the mishap and also show to the nation that they have taken corrective measures,” he said.

Three train accidents taking place in the region within 16 months and the Government shows no concern and do not take corrective measures speak of its indifference. The Railway ministry is using old and condemned compartments and playing with the lives of the passengers.

Very recently fire mishaps occurred in four Volvo buses causing the death of many. Neither the State Government nor the Centre has taken any action despite loss of human life and safety measures are thrown to winds.

“What is needed is the Government must give confidence to the passengers. It is not the knee jerk reaction of announcing ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh, admitting the injured to hospitals and setting up of commissions. It is not the amount for ex-gratia be it Rs 5 lakhs or Rs 15 lakhs it is safety measures that need to be implemented that matters,” he said.

The functioning of the Railway Ministry should change and it should be accountable to the people. The technical and maintenance reports should be kept in public domain and safety measures should be followed with precision.

“We demand that the Government should own the responsibility for the accident and must be transparent on what it is doing with the technical reports submitted after every accident,” he said.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has rushed to the accident spot from the Samaikya Sankharavam Yatra he has resumed yesterday in Chittoor district. Three of the deceased and some of injured belong to the State. INN