Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed officials to provide ex-gratia payments to the families of the victims from Andhra Pradesh who lost their lives or sustained injuries in the recent train accident in Odisha. As per the official announcement, a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs will be given to the families of each deceased passenger, Rs 5 lakhs will be provided to those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh will be given to individuals with minor injuries. This relief fund is in addition to the financial assistance provided by the central government.
The Education Minister, Botsa Satyanarayana, addressed the media on Sunday and shared the decision taken by Chief Minister YS Jagan. "Following a review meeting conducted by the Chief Minister, it was instructed to provide ex-gratia to the affected passengers from Andhra Pradesh, in addition to the financial aid offered by the central government," stated the minister.
During the briefing, the minister provided updated information regarding the Andhra Pradesh passengers who were traveling on the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express and the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, the trains involved in the tragic accident in Balasore on Friday. "The Chief Minister has directed the relief amount to be paid to the family of Gurumurthy (60), a passenger from Santha Bommali in Srikakulam district, who was traveling to Balasore, Odisha and unfortunately lost his life in the accident," the minister informed.
According to reports, Gurumurthy was originally from Andhra Pradesh but had relocated to Balasore, Odisha for employment purposes. He was travelling on Yeshwantpur Express towards Balasore when the accident took place.
The minister added, "There have been no reports of any other deaths or injuries among the Andhra Pradesh passengers." He further mentioned that the available information was limited to reserved bookings and details about passengers traveling in unreserved coaches were yet to be ascertained.