Indore-Patna Express mishap: Govt needs to act, not just advertise , says Left

Criticising the Centre for making tall promises and assuring Parliament that they are spending big on rail safety, Left leader Mohammad Salim on Sunday said the Indore-Patna Express derailment tragedy clearly depicts that only PR jobs, banners and advertisements won't do much, the government needs to work on the ground.

Salim told ANI, "My deep condolences to the bereaved families. At the same time, I am expressing shock and anguish, because it's a huge loss."

"The government had promised and assured Parliament that they are spending huge on rail safety, but this accident has shown that only PR job, putting banners, hoardings, festoons, posters and advertisements are not going to address the basic problem, which is plaguing the Indian railways. What about the track renewal and most of the time we feel that enough number of employees are not there," he added.

The leader further said Parliament is on and they would raise this issue.

"The Railway Minister must answer that what went wrong and how did it happen? When some top leaders is answerable, they say it's a system failure; and when there is some minor incident, they say it's a human error. Now, the government should look into that how over the years railways' safety has been ignored," Salim said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed condolences in a tweet, "Saddened at the news of train accident. Thoughts and prayers with those families who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover well."

The death toll has risen to 103 in the Indore-Patna express accident near Pukhrayan of Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh early this morning.

More than hundred passengers were injured when 14 coaches of the train derailed early this morning. The incident took place at around 3 AM near Pukhrayan, about 100 kms from Kanpur.