Mumbai stampede victims to get Rs five lakh ex gratia: Piyush Goyal

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on 29 September said his ministry and the Maharashtra Government will give Rs. five lakh as ex gratia to each of the families of the 22 deceased who had lost their lives in the stampede here this morning.

"The State Government and the Railway Ministry will give Rs. five lakh ex gratia each to the family of the deceased. The treatment of those injured will also be taken care of. For the grievously injured, Rs. one lakh will be given, whereas Rs. 50,000 will be given to those who suffered minor injuries," Goyal told media here.

He further said the priority is to safeguard passengers and concerned officers have been asked to immediately start the probe.

"We have ordered for a high-level enquiry. Wherever there is a need for foot overbridges to be widened, we will do it immediately on high priority. As soon as we get information about the fault, we will take action on the highest priority," Goyal asserted.

Meanwhile, Minister of State (MoS) for Railways, Manoj Sinha said that no question has been raised on the structural strength of bridge and added that the incident happened due to stampede.

"None should do politics on such an unfortunate incident, there are people who always seek opportunity. We are above politics on the issue," he added.

At least 22 people died and more than 30 were seriously injured in the stampede that took place at Mumbai's Elphinstone Railway Station.

Goyal then said that the Chief Safety Officer of Western Railways will lead the probe and ascertain the cause of the incident.

President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also expressed grief over the incident.

"Saddened and shocked to know about the tragic stampede at #Elphinstone railway station, foot over bridge (sic)," Fadnavis tweeted.

Following the incident, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team reached the site for rescue operation. 

-ANI