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The meeting, chaired by BJP MP Dr CM Ramesh, was convened to discuss demand for grants after the Union Budget presentation
At least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in a stampede that broke out at New Delhi railway station. (Source: PTI)
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday raised issues related to passenger safety at the meeting of the Standing Committee for Railways.
The meeting, chaired by BJP MP Dr CM Ramesh, convened to discuss demand for grants after the Union Budget presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on February 1.
During the meeting, several opposition MPs questioned the government on their passenger safety preparedness, given that railways carries lakhs of passengers daily.
“While the Prime Minister speaks about Viksit Bharat, or a developed India, it seems the government has no plan to protect the lives of common man,” an opposition MP reportedly said in the meeting.
“For a vast country like India, what plan does the government have to ensure crowd management? Even in the recent case of the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj,” another MP reportedly said in the meeting, highlighting the recent stampede. “People came to Delhi, thinking they would travel to take the holy dip in the Sangam, but ended up losing their lives after poor crowd management, even in the national capital. How will the government justify what has happened,” a BJD MP asked the government.
However, panel chairman, Dr Ramesh, argued that this was not the platform to raise these questions and that the meeting was solely about the demand for grants.
It is learnt that railway ministry officials said a probe was underway and a response would be given to the panel later.
Apart from this, multiple issues, including spending more money on passenger amenities, building more robust infrastructure, including tracks, and modernising trains, were raised.
Some members also demanded that looking at the modernity of several stations, these needed to be extended to tier-two and tier-three cities.
