Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Sunday appreciated the measures being taken by the Andhra Pradesh government to identify the passengers of the two trains that crashed in Odisha from the state and shift the injured to various hospitals.
The union minister’s words of praise came when state IT minister Gudivada Amarnath discussed the issue with him at the government guest house in Cuttack.
Mr Amarnath said in a statement that he informed the Railway Minister about the steps taken to trace the passengers from Andhra Pradesh and shift the injured to hospitals. He said control rooms have been set up at various places in the state so that the relatives of the stranded passengers can forward relevant information and even photographs of the victims through WhatsApp numbers available there.
Shri Amarnath said that the Railway Minister directed the officials to pay attention to the relief measures initiated by the State Government. He appreciated the government for constituting a six-member committee consisting of IAS and IPS officers under the leadership of a minister (Shri Amarnath) to monitor the situation at the accident site.
Mr. Amarnath said that he informed the Union Minister that 342 passengers from Andhra Pradesh have been traced. The body of a person killed in the accident has been identified and handed over to his family members. He said that the State Government has also announced ex-gratia for the victims.