HYDERABAD: Basudeb Acharya, chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways and P. Madhu, MP, have demanded a judicial inquiry into the causes of the recent train accident at Valigonda that claimed 116 lives.

Talking to reporters after visiting the accident site in Nalgonda district on Thursday as part of a Parliamentary committee they blamed the Railways for the accident. The accident had occurred due to shortage of staff as recruitment to 33 per cent of the sanctioned posts had been stopped, they said.

Demands

They also demanded filling of all vacancies, adequate compensation to the victims of the mishap, employment to the dependents of those killed and compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged. Mr. Madhu accused the SCR officials of hiding facts by preventing witnesses from deposing before the probe conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.

Safety

Mr. Acharya said that in spite of the Railways spending Rs.10,000 crores in the last four years on safety and modernisation, such accidents were taking place.

Normally, pre-monsoon patrolling staff was deployed but it did not happen in the case of Valigonda. As a result, there was nobody to see the condition of the track and report to the nearest stations.

He said there was staff shortage of 80,000 in the Railways, which had been downsized by 1.52 lakh personnel during the six-year rule of NDA. Though the standing committee had recommended eight months ago to fill safety category posts, the Railways was yet to take action on it.

Maintenance

Earlier addressing drivers and guards belonging to All-India Guards Council and All-India Loco Running Staff Association at the Secunderabad Railway Station, Mr. Acharya said the accident was of a serious nature and the main reason for it was lack of proper maintenance of the rolling stock, tracks, coaches and locomotives. He said all these issues would be raised in the ensuing winter session of Parliament.

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