BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government on Sunday announced ex gratia compensation of ` five lakh each for the next of the kin of those who died in the Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derailment at Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh.
Chief Secretary AP Padhi, Director-General of Police (DGP) K B Singh and Health Secretary P K Meherda visited the Rayagada district headquarters government hospital where 19 people are undergoing treatment and 13 others were discharged after preliminary treatment.
The Chief Secretary, the DGP and the Health Secretary also visited the accident site at Kuneru. The families of the victims from Odisha would get the benefit of ex gratia of Rs five lakh, an official statement said, adding that the Government has decided to ensure treatment free of cost to all the injured passengers of the ill-fated train.
Earlier, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced ex gratia of `two lakh each for the kin of those killed in the derailment. Prabhu said Rs 50,000 would be given to those who were severely injured and Rs 25,000 to those who have received minor injuries.
East Coast Railway said 40 people have died so far and 69 have sustained injuries in the accident. Twenty passengers, who received minor injuries, were admitted to the hospital and discharged after receiving first aid. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation at a high-level meeting in the morning and directed the Chief Secretary, the DGP and the Health Secretary to rush to Rayagada to monitor the situation. Naveen also spoke to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu and requested him to support to the victims.