BHUBANESWAR : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Ministry of Railways and Odisha government to ensure that all the victims of the Bahanaga train tragedy in Balasore district are compensated and effective steps are taken to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.
Disposing of a petition filed by rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the apex human rights panel asked the chief secretary to make available DNA profiling and body preservation facilities in different hospitals.
While 297 passengers died in the tragic train mishap that took place on June 2 last year, 27 bodies were cremated without getting identified. The bodies could not be identified due to delay in preservation and substandard DNA samples.
“The state is lagging behind in emergency preparedness as it is observed from the tragedy and in the aftermath,” the Commission observed.
The NHRC directed the chairman of Railway Board and the chief secretary to appoint senior officials as nodal officers and coordinate to address the complaints/claims regarding pending compensation.
So far, the Railways have paid Rs 26.9 crore as ex-gratia to the next of kin of the 269 identified deceased passengers. Of the remaining 28, payment of ex-gratia against one deceased is pending for legal documents of next of kin, while 27 unidentified bodies have been cremated.