HOWRAH-NEW DELHI RAJDHANI ACCIDENT - 106 PASSENGERS DEAD AND 209
INJURED
TRAFFIC ON ONE LINE OF THE ROUTE
TO BE RESTORED THIS NIGHT
As per the latest report the death
toll of Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani train accident on Monday night
has gone upto 106 and that of injured 209. All bodies except one
has been identified so far. The massive rescue and relief operations
launched by Railways in coordination with the local administration
has been completed today. One line of the affected Gaya- Sonenagar
Section of Mughalsarai Division will be restored for traffic by
this night.
The victims of the ill fated train
have been given ex-gratia payment as announced by the Minister
of Railways, Shri Nitish Kumar. The ex-gratia payment in case
of death is Rs.1 lakh, Rs.25,000 for grievously injured and Rs.5000
in case of simple injury. Usual claims/compensation for death/injury
are decided by the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) where affected
persons can apply. Amount of compensation in case of death and
permanent disability is Rs.4 lakhs and in case of injuries, the
compensation amount varies from Rs.32,000 to Rs.3.60 lakhs. Railway
staff will be helping the affected persons in filing the application
for compensation. Claims can be filed within one year of the date
of accident. They can also seek transfer of their case to an RCT
situated at a place of their convenience. The accident cases are
settled on priority basis. If need be, free legal assistance is
also provided to the public. Chief Claims Officer of Eastern Railway,
Kolkata will be assisting the relatives of the victims of the
accident in filing claims. Efforts are also being made to provide
information pertaining to claims procedure on the website of Indian
Railways www.indianrailways.gov.in
, in a couple of days.
Eighty seven injured passengers
are being treated at different railway, civil and military hospitals
of Gaya, Sasaram, Varanasi, Kolkata, Lucknow and New Delhi.
