A day after the Gorakdham train mishap claimed at least 40 lives, new Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said that safety was a key issue for Railways and his top priority will be “3S — safety, security and speed”.
Describing the accident that took place near Sant Kabir Nagar in Uttar Pradesh on Monday as unfortunate, Gowda said, “Safety is one of the important factors that need to be taken care of by the Railway Ministry.”
“I will have a detailed discussion with railway officials about this. My priority is 3S —safety, security and speed,” he added.
Preliminary report suggested that a fracture in the tracks could have led to the accident.
While Gowda would be visiting the accident site on Wednesday, Minister of State (MoS) for Railways Manoj Sinha and Union Minister Kalraj Mishra visited the spot on Tuesday.
Talking to the reporters at the accident site, Sinha alleged that the local administration did not cooperate in relief and rescue operations after the mishap. “Had they cooperated, the operation would have done in better way”, he added.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minster on Tuesday sanctioned an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 50,000 each for those seriously injured in the accident, a PMO statement said.
He also directed the Railway Ministry to ensure that relief operations were carried out smoothly and that all those injured in the mishap were provided the best possible medical care.
Observing that there are many challenges confronting the Railways, Gowda said development of Railways is one of the priorities for the BJP Government.
He promised to come up with a roadmap for the Ministry after studying all the issues in details and discussing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the goals ahead.
“I should discuss with my Prime Minister what is his idea and which aspect we should give focus...I need another 10 days time to come before the public to explain what is the road map before me,” he said.
Asked about an ambitious project to run bullet trains in the country, he said the concept has already been emphasised by the Prime Minister during his election campaign and this would also be discussed.