BHUBANESWAR: The Railway Ministry came in for strong criticism from the BJD and the Congress following the derailment of Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express at Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh.
The frequent mishaps have raised serious questions on move to introduce bullet trains, new freight corridors and modernisation of railways, BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said and added that this is the fourth major accident in the last 12 weeks in which more than 300 people have been killed.
“If people of the country lose lives, there is no point of talking about the modernisation of railways,” Deb said and added there is a need for greater focus on safety measures in the next Railway budget.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan criticised the Railway Ministry for the frequent railway mishaps which have claimed such a large number of lives. He demanded that the amount of ex gratia announced by the Centre and the State governments be increased.ENS