Rly minister returns to country, attends Niti Ayog function

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal returned from US on Monday, two days after 59 Dussehra revellers watching the burning of a Ravana effigy on the tracks near Amritsar were mowed down by a train, with officials attributing the delay to non-availability of tickets and problem of connecting flights.

"The minister had rushed to the airport but there were no tickets available. In fact, he has come back after taking multiple flights and even halted at one airport for 12 hours. He really tried his best to get back. In the meantime, he has been briefing us, guiding us and monitoring the situation on the ground continuously," said a senior official.

Goyal who was on a trip to the United States to collect an award for rural electrification returned here in the wee hours of the morning, the official told PTI, adding he then participated in an event organised by Niti Ayog which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet.

The minister had tweeted around two hours after the Amritsar tragedy announcing that he was cancelling all his engagements in the US and returning immediately to India.

"May God give strength to the bereaved and injured. Railways is providing all possible assistance at the site. I have cancelled all engagements in USA and immediately returning back to India," he tweeted at 9:45 pm on October 19.

Officials said the minister did not attend any of the events planned for his visit there after he got the news of the tragedy.

On his arrival in the country, he has also been briefed about the latest in the case, the official added.