The North Eastern Railway (NER) has initiated a high-level investigation into the collapse of an under-construction lintel at Kannauj Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh. The committee consists of four members-Principal Chief Safety Commissioner, Chief Engineer, Principal Chief Safety Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer/RSP Chief Safety Officer. They have been assigned to investigate the cause of the incident, as per Pankaj Kumar Singh, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NER.
Compensation and medical services for injured
In response to the incident, NER has declared an ex-gratia compensation for the injured. Victims who have suffered minor injuries will get Rs 50,000 whereas those with serious injuries will receive Rs 2.5 lakh. Prompt medical care for the injured and immediate rescue and relief operations headed by Divisional Railway Manager Veena Sinha and officials from the Izzatnagar division were provided.
Thorough treatment was provided to the victims by a team of railway doctors, supervised by the Chief Medical Superintendent and supported by staff from local hospitals. As per s senior official, six individuals have received severe injuries but all are out of danger.
Kanpur Commissioner K Vijayendra Pandian confirmed that 28 people had been saved from the site. Among them, 15 have been discharged while six others have been kept on observation because of fractures and other injuries. Currently, debris removal is going on and advanced measures such as the deployment of SDRF sniffer dogs and inspection from the drone has been conducted and ensured no casualties were reported.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the BJP government, citing the negligence and corruption in the construction process. He blamed that safety standards had been compromised because of continuous outsourcing of contracts and political interference.
(With inputs from ANI)
