The Hindu : Nitish to oversee relief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003

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Nitish to oversee relief

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 23. The Union Minister for Railways, Nitish Kumar, accompanied by the Chairman, Member Traffic, Member Engineering and Member Mechanical of Railway Board, left here early this morning for Ratnagiri in Maharashtra to oversee rescue operations for the victims of the Karwar-Mumbai holiday special which derailed near Sindhudurg late on Sunday.

According to an official statement, medical relief trains from Ratnagiri and Verna have already reached the spot. While no telephone could be installed at the accident site due to failure of optic fibre cable, helpline numbers have been installed for the benefit of the anxious passengers and their relatives. The Helpline telephone Nos. on Central Railway, Mumbai, are: 022-27579939 / 022-27579938 / 022- 27572685.

Mr. Kumar expressed profound grief over the tragedy and conveyed his condolences to the next of kin of the dead and sympathy to the injured. He also ordered ex gratia payment to the next of kin of those dead and injured. He also ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Western Circle.

PM express grief

UNI reports from Beijing:

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has expressed deep grief over the loss of several lives in a train accident near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. In his condolence message, Mr. Vajpayee, presently in Beijing, conveyed his heart-felt sympathies to the members of the bereaved families.

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Nitish to oversee relief