The Railway Ministry as well as many other private bodies, including Adani Group, has announced compensation and financial assistance for the victims and the injured passengers of the horrific train accident in Odisha.
In the deadly train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday evening, involving Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, at least 275 passengers were killed and over 1,000 injured.
The injured have been admitted to different hospitals in Odisha and the train services resumed on the accident route on Sunday.
As per reports, the railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw conducted a review of the restoration work and informed that the "root cause" of the accident has been identified. The death toll was lowered to 275 from 288, by the Odisha government on June 4, citing double counting of bodies.
On Sunday, the railway authorities also virtually ruled out driver error and system malfunction, indicating that a possible “sabotage” or tampering of the electronic systems was behind the triple-train accident which occurred on June 2.
Compensation announced so far
On June 2, the railway minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the accident and a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured. An amount of Rs 50,000 was announced for those who got minor injuries.
Ex-gratia compensation to the victims of this unfortunate train accident in Odisha;₹10 Lakh in case of death,₹2 Lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) June 2, 2023
Soon after the railway minister's announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced additional ex-gratia compensation for those affected in the train accident.
Ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh was announced for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50, 000 was announced for the injured. As per PM Modi’s tweet, the fund would be given from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
Following this, the Adani Group announced that it will provide free school education to the children who lost their parents in the accident.
Chairperson of Adani Group, Gautam Adani tweeted, "We all are deeply distressed by the Odisha train accident. We have decided that the Adani group will take responsibility for the school education of the innocent people who have lost their parents in this accident. It is the joint responsibility of all of us to provide strength to the victims and their families and better tomorrow for the children.”
उड़ीसा की रेल दुर्घटना से हम सभी बेहद व्यथित हैं।
हमने फैसला लिया है कि जिन मासूमों ने इस हादसे में अपने अभिभावकों को खोया है उनकी स्कूली शिक्षा की जिम्मेदारी अडाणी समूह उठाएगा।पीड़ितों एवं उनके परिजनों को संबल और बच्चों को बेहतर कल मिले यह हम सभी की संयुक्त जिम्मेदारी है।— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) June 4, 2023
On June 4, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the relatives of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh as assistance will be provided to those who sustained injuries. As per the official statement issued by the CMO, the fund would be distributed from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh each for those who suffered serious injuries. An amount of Rs 1 lakh was announced for those who sustained minor injuries, The Hindu reported.
Former Indian cricketer, Virendra Sehwag also announced assistance to the families of those affected. Taking to Twitter, Sehwag announced to provide free education to the children of those who lost their lives in the accident.
“In this hour of grief, the least I can do is to take care of the education of children of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident. I offer such children free education at Sehwag International School’s boarding facility,” Sehwag tweeted.
This image will haunt us for a long time.
In this hour of grief, the least I can do is to take care of education of children of those who lost their life in this tragic accident. I offer such children free education at Sehwag International School’s boarding facility pic.twitter.com/b9DAuWEoTy— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 4, 2023
Additionally, the Odisha government is providing free bus services to the people who are affected by the disruption of rail services.
“A total of 20 buses from Puri, 23 buses from Bhubaneswar & 16 buses from Cuttack have left for Kolkata as of 11:30 PM on June 4” the Odisha CMO said according to news agency ANI.
Odisha is providing free bus services to the people who want to travel to Kolkata in view of the disruption of rail services due to #Bahanaga train mishap. A total of 20 buses from Puri, 23 buses from Bhubaneswar & 16 buses from Cuttack have left for Kolkata as of 11:30PM on June…
— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023
People travelling to Kolkata from Odisha can take the free buses from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The free bus services will be available till the normal train services are restored on the route.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Lok Sabha elections phase 4 witnesses around 63% voter turnout, experts weigh in on key contests
May 14, 2024 12:06 AM
Lok Sabha Election 2024: Shiv Sena UBT’s Arvind Sawant highlights Uddhav Thackeray's vision for Mumbai’s progress
May 13, 2024 9:21 PM
Exclusive interview: 'Southern states will be a big surprise,' says PM Modi
May 13, 2024 9:05 PM
PM Modi's Patna visit: Cooking roti, serving langar, roadshow, and more
May 13, 2024 5:13 PM