Fair enquiry being conducted into New Delhi station stampede: Vaishnaw

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said a fair enquiry is being conducted regarding the stampede which took place at New Delhi railway station last month and said the government is implementing a slew of measures to avoid such incidents in the futureRejecting the allegations that the CCTV cameras were switched off at the New Delhi Railway station to hide the details of the incident Vaishnaw said a detailed inquiry is being held regarding the accident in which 18 people lost their livesI outrightly reject that CCTV cameras were switched off I have seen the CCTV footage myself Vaishnaw stated in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a discussion on the passage of the Railways Amendment Bill 2024RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha had raised the matter during the discussion stating that railway authorities had switched off CCTV cameras to hide the details of the incidentWith Vaishnaw countering several opposition members walked out of the HouseJha was joined by Congress member Vivek Tankha TMC members Derek OBrian Sagarika Ghosh Sushmita Dev CPI M members John Brittas and V Sivadasan CPI member Santhosh P BJD member Sasmit PatraLater Brittas Sivadasan and Santhosh returned to move amendments to the bill which was negated by voice votesVaishnaw noted that it is very sad if even one life is lost due to an accident and the issue should not be politicisedIt is important that we learn from such incidents that it doesnt happen again Vaishnaw statedAfter this accident it has been decided that in 60 stations there will be complete access control In these stations a permanent holding area will be created so that the passenger surge could be controlled the minister saidIn these stations only travellers with a confirmed journey ticket would be allowed to enter the station premises he addedVaishnaw noted that a pilot project in this regard has been launched at five stations Anand Vihar New Delhi Varanasi Ayodhya and GhaziabadHe noted that the government has also decided to come up with footover bridges FOBs that are 12 meter wide in order to avoid stampedelike situationsHe noted that such FOBs were set up for the recently concluded MahaKumbh at Prayagraj and they helped in smooth passage of the pilgrimsVaishnaw stated that war rooms would also be created in busy stations with newgeneration communication technologiesHe also informed that now Railways will only issue tickets at busy stations against the available seats on the trains and sought the cooperation of the opposition members in this regardVaishnaw also informed the Upper House that a pool of 80 trains would be created for the 60 stations to take care of additional passengersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever