Rly. Min. should own up mishap, says Jagan

Puttaparthi (Ananthapuram
dist), December 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.

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