Fix accountability for Mumbai bridge stampede, says Congress

“The people need answers from Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu,” spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. Describing the stampede that left 23 persons dead and 35 injured as a case of tragic callousness, callous indifference and criminal negligence, he said: “We want accountability... These accidents are now occurring with a monotonous regularity.” He said that after the accident, the city police and the railway police sought to lay the blame on each other. “Instead of coordinating their investigation, the two groups argued over jurisdiction… It is symptomatic of all that is wrong with Mumbai’s infrastructure.” Mr. Singhvi pointed out that from November 2016, commuters had been tweeting their concern about the fragility of the bridge, tagging the Railway Minister and the Railway Ministry, without any response. Even Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant had written to Sadanand Gowda when he was Railway Minister in 2014, seeking foot-over bridges at the Parel, Curry Road and Chinchpokli stations, he said. Mr. Prabhu acknowledged receipt of this letter, spoke of the “adverse effects of the global slowdown” and said new foot-over bridges were under consideration. Kith and kin grieve victims

Two days after the horrific stampede at the Elphinstone Road Railway station, the Bunt community from Vikhroli in Mumbai organised a prayer meeting in their memory on Monday evening.

‘22 got relief in 24 hours’ The Western Railways claimed that the kin of 23 people killed in the stampede received ex-gratia payment within 24 hours and that its officers traveled to different parts of the country to disburse the money. Source(The Hindu) Posted by-Tameem Momin