Mamata sending Rly officials to Gujarat

KOLKATA, JAN. 26. The Railway Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, tonight said that she was sending a team of Railway Board officials and engineers to the earthquake devastated Gujarat for assessing the damage and restoration of Railway lines on a war footing.

``I am sending a team of Railway Board members to assess the damage caused by the earthquake to Railway property and engineers to the affected areas for immediate restoration of tracks'', Ms. Banerjee said.

The Minister said that she had received information that the vital Surajbari bridge in Bhuj was ``badly damaged''.

``Our first priority is to stand by the people by providing all sorts of assistance possible from our Ministry''.

She appealed to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to immediately open a special cell with telephone numbers to provide information about the affected people and places to the relatives living outside Gujarat.

She also announced that the Railways would provide free passage to the relatives for visiting Gujarat. The arrangement, however, would be made within the guidelines of the Railways. - PTI

Laxman to visit Gujarat The BJP president, Mr. Bangaru Laxman, will arrive in Ahmedabad tomorrow to visit the quake hit parts of Gujarat, according to official sources. The Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, and the BJP general secretary, Mr. Narendra Modi, airdashed to Ahmedabad in the aftermath of the havoc wreaked by the powerful earthquake.

At least 761 people have died in the earthquake that rocked Gujarat early today and the toll is expected to rise further. Public and private property worth crores of rupees have been damaged in Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Saurashtra and south Gujarat region, which are worst affected in the earthquake.

- PTI

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