The West Bengal Cabinet on Monday gave the go-ahead to a proposal to give a job each to the families of the 2023 Balasore train accident victims who hailed from the state, officials said.
Thirteen of the 296 persons who died in the accident were residents of West Bengal.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat. The Cabinet decided to give them home guards jobs in the police department.
In one of the country’s worst railway disasters, Chennai-bound Coromandel Express rammed into a stationary goods train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, Odisha, on the evening of June 2, 2023. Minutes later, the coaches derailed in the collision were hit from the opposite direction by the Yeshvantpur Express that was going towards Howrah.
The Cabinet also announced to allocate 40 acres land to Titagarh Rail Systems Limited for extension of the existing facility to manufacture Vande Bharat train coaches. The land will be given to the rail coach factory on a lease of 99 years for Rs 126 crore. The plot is located adjacent to TRSL’s current 34-acre plant in Uttarpara in Kotrung and Bhadreswar in the Hooghly district.
The Cabinet decided to change the provision of widow and old age allowances. So far, the social welfare office was in charge of the approval of the allowances in the Kolkata Corporation. But from now, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner can approve the allowances. The administration has argued that the process will be faster, simpler and transparent under the new system. The beneficiaries will get quick allowances in this process, the state government claimed.
Speaking at the meeting, the CM expressed concern over the harassment of Bengali-speaking people in other states. Stating that such injustice cannot be tolerated, she said peaceful protests need to be organised.
A minister said, “In the meeting, the CM asked ministers to take out with rallies in the districts to support Bengali migrant workers who were being humiliated in the other states. She also said on July 21, the TMC will organise the Martyrs Day rally was done in the past.” — PTI inputs