BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government is yet to announce the number of dead and injured passengers from Odisha in the rail mishap at Bahanaga in Balasore district on June 2, Opposition Congress lashed out at it for suppressing figures and not maintaining transparency.
Leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingh Mishra said the frequent changes in figures of the dead, silence on the number of dead and injured from Odisha and evasion of missing passengers’ issue have proved the government is not sure about such things.
The CLP leader said five days have already passed since the accident but the government has not yet announced the number of dead and injured persons from Odisha even as has been done by neighbouring states. He said when the state government is announcing death figures in the accident, it should come out with how many people from Odisha died in the mishap.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallick dismissed the allegations and said the government has followed a transparent procedure in fixing the death toll.
Earlier in the day, Disaster Management Minister of Bihar Shahnawaz Alam said 43 people from his state died in the incident while 44 people were injured. He said 88 people from the state are missing. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after visiting injured passengers from her state in SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack had said 31 persons from her state are missing.
However, the managing director of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority Gyana Ranjan Das refused to comment on the statements on missing passengers made by the governments of neighbouring states. He said so far 39 deceased from Odisha have been identified.