Andhra Pradesh train accident: AP Govt hands over Rs 2.62 crore for injured, kin of deceased

VIZIANAGARAM: The Andhra Pradesh Government on Tuesday handed over the ex gratia cheques to survivors and kin of the deceased in the collision of Visakhapatnam-Rayagada and Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger trains at Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vizianagaram.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met the injured passengers at the GGH here on Monday and assured them of all possible help. Soon after the accident, the Chief Minister asked the officials to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured from the State and a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured from others states.

District Collector S Nagalakshmi, along with Zilla Parishad chairman M Srinivasa Rao handed over cheques worth Rs 2.62 crore to survivors of the train accident. Among them, Rs 10 lakh cheques were given to the kin of the 13 deceased, Rs 10 lakh for the passengers who sustained severe injuries, Rs 5 lakh cheques were given to the 10 survivors and Rs 2 lakh cheques for the remaining survivors.

Initially, YS Jagan announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured. However, the Chief Minister during his visit to the GGH came across the plight of the survivors and enhanced the ex gratia to Rs 10 lakh for those who became differently-abled in the accident and Rs 5 lakh would be paid to the survivors who would be confined to beds for a while.