Mumbai, June 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday, ordered an inquiry into the Mumbai local train accident in which at least four persons died and nine others were injured after they fell on the railway track.

He has also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the four deceased persons.

Besides, the injured victims will also be provided a compensation ranging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh.

The state government sources said that the injured will be provided free treatment as the expenses will be borne by the government.

The State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan confirmed that a high level probe is underway to find out how the accident took place.

He said that two passengers due to serious injuries have been sent to the Jupiter hospital in Thane.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray raked up the demand for a separate corporation for Mumbai railways made for many years, saying that so far no government has paid attention to it.

“The railway accident that happened in Mumbai today is unfortunate. Many passengers lost their lives in this accident, but such incidents are happening daily in Mumbai. Every day, passengers in Mumbai are getting injured, and yet, no one seems to care. Today, urban planning is completely in disarray. Huge crowds are pouring in. Big roads, bridges, and metros are being built for them. High-rise buildings are being permitted, but there is no planning for parking. Every city faces a serious traffic problem. Building new roads and metros makes no difference, yet no government thinks about urban planning or the influx of people from outside,” he said.

He also added: “All our focus is only on elections and campaigns. Will Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray form an alliance? More important than this question are the questions of how travel is happening in Mumbai today, how people are living in cities and across the state in general. Will the media raise these questions? Will they demand answers from the government? Who forms an alliance with whom, who said what — these things are truly trivial in front of these serious issues.”

“Are we going to turn our attention to the people’s problems?” he asked.

“I myself have travelled by Mumbai’s railways for a long time. But back then, the situation was somewhat better. Now, seeing the crowds at railway stations is terrifying. These MPs, MLAs, and Ministers go abroad — do they learn anything from there? If such an incident happened abroad, how would it have been handled there? Here, however, there is nothing. Here, human life has no value,” he commented.

Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “While standing at the door of a local train heading towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus between Diva and Mumbra stations, some passengers were tragically killed after being struck by an express train coming from the opposite direction; this incident is deeply heartbreaking. Heartfelt tributes to the passengers who lost their lives.”

–IANS

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