“In Railways, biggest incident of 21st century…” WB CM Mamata Banerjee on Odisha Train accident

Jun 03, 2023

Balasore (Odisha), June 03 (ANI): Expressing grief over the Odisha train mishap, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 03 in Balasore termed the tragedy as the ‘biggest incident of 21st century’ and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victims of the tragedy belonging to West Bengal. She also pointed out the absence of an anti-collision device on the train, which she said would have averted the accident. “Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway's safety commission and they investigate and give a report. There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened. The dead can't be brought back but now our work is rescue operation & restoration of normalcy,” Banerjee said. WB CM reached at the Odisha train mishap site on June 03. The Balasore train tragedy that jolted the nation on June 02, has claimed more than 250 lives whereas 900 people have been injured. 2 passenger trains along with a goods train were involved in the accident due to train derailment, that resulted in the train collision. Several political leaders have been visiting the tragedy site. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victims of Odisha’s train tragedy has also been announced by the Railways Ministry.