Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased in the Balasore three-train accident.
The CM also announced ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh for seriously injured persons. He also announced Rs 50,000 ex-gratia for other injured passengers.
This exgratia assistance is applicable to the victims from Odisha only.
The train accident involving Coromandel Express, SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train at Bahanaga in Balasore district on June 2 has claimed at least 288 lives.
According to the preliminary report, the Coromandel Express entered the loop line and crashed into a goods train parked there instead of the main line, just ahead of the Bahanaga Bazar railway station.
The report claimed that the coaches of SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express capsized after crashing into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track after hitting the goods train.
In the conclusion of the preliminary investigation report prepared by a team of railway officials, it is revealed that the signal for Coromandel Express was given for passing through the up main line and then taken off for up main line with the goods train which was on the up-loop line.
It also said that in the meantime, SMVP-Horwah Express passed through on the down mainline, and two coaches of it were derailed and capsized.
The report, however, does not mention the reason why the signal was given and taken off for the Coromandel Express.
The report has been submitted to the Railway Board, sources said.
However, senior officials remained tight-lipped to share more details on the preliminary report shared with the Railway Board.
Meanwhile, a railway source said that it was a case of “mechanical error”. The source said that how this mechanical error happened will be found in the detailed inquiry that the Railway Board has ordered.
