Congress president Sonia Gandhi assured the farmers and the family members of the Bachrawan train accident to take up the issue of hike in the compensation and other benefits both with the state as well as the Central government. ‘I will talk to Chief Minister to give immediate financial relief to the farmers, whose crops have been destroyed in the rains. Will also suggest the Centre to increase the compensation and to give jobs to the dependants of the Bachrawa rail accident,’ she said while talking to the affected families during her day long visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi on Saturday. While Rae Bareli is represented by Ms Gandhi, Amethi is represented by her son and congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Sonia Gandhi reached Fhursatganj airport at around 10:30am and immediately went to Digiya village on the Rae Bareli- Amethi border to meet the villagers. She went around the village and even took the stock of the damaged crops. She also visited Bandipur and Shivpuri villages where the farmers showed her damages to wheat and mustard crops in the fields to stress the magnitude of their losses. The farmers apprised Sonia of their plight and claimed that no administrative official has visited the village for conducting a survey so that compensation could be given to them. The farmers also drew her attention to the poor state of tube-wells in the area because of which they were facing immense hardship and alleged that the administration was neither cooperating nor listening to their grievances. She gave a patient hearing to the farmers and assured them that she would take up the issue with officials concerned and exert pressure on the government so as to help them get proper compensation.
later she went to Sarvodaya Nagar in Rae Bareli to condole the death of a youth Shivendra Singh(22), who died in the train mishap. later she visited Uttarpura village under Rae Bareli Sadar assembly segment , where eminent religious singer Shitla Prasad Mishra along with his one brother and a nephew were killed in the train mishap. She interacted with the family members and consoled them on the deaths. Gandhi also met 14-year-old Dhananjay, who has been rendered handicapped in the accident and promised medical help. Dhananjay belongs to the family of Shitla Prasad Misra.
She also went to Kucheriya village to meet the farmers to get a first hand information about the crop loss. After taking lunch at the Bhue Mau guest house she visited Brahmani, Sarai Mehesa and Dundipur villages in Amethi parliamentary constituency to meet the family members of the deceased of the train accident. The Congress President enquired whether the families have received any help from the central government and was told that though the central help had reached them, the assistance announced by the state government was yet to come. In Brahmani, 4 people have died while in Sarai Mehesa 2 people had died and one in Dundipur. Altogether six people from Rae Bareli and 12 from Amethi were among the 40 dead in the train accident that took place in Bachrawa in Rae Bareli district on March 20.