ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Railways have expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the railways ministry in the wake of frequent train accidents, including the Tezgam Express tragedy.

At least 73 people burned to death and 40 others critically injured after several bogies of Tezgam Express caught fire near Liaquatpur city of Punjab in October last year.

The members expressed their views at a meeting of the standing committee presided over by MNA Moham­mad Mueen Wattoo on Thurs­day.

They said that the Ministry of Railways was least bothered about implementation of the recommendations made by the committee.

They said that the ministry used delaying tactics in the timely submission of the report of the federal government inspector of railways on the Tezgam incident, and the compensation ann­ounc­ed for the deceased and the injured.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Railways informed the members that a committee had been constituted to revisit the inquiry report of the federal government inspector of railways on the Tezgam Express train accident on the directive of the Supreme Court, and its findings were awaited. Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad directed the ministry to provide a copy of the report to the committee.

Railway officials asserted that the final report of the Tezgam tragedy had been submitted to the committee last month along with facts and figures and fixing of responsibility and recommendations.

Responding to questions by the committee members about compensation, the railway officials said that some compensation cheques had been received from Postal Life Insurance, and they would be delivered to the legal heirs of the deceased. The remaining compensation cheques were under scrutiny, they said.

The committee was informed that the legal heirs of some deceased had demanded that the Pakistan Railways issue death certificates of those whose bodies could not be identified even through DNA test.

At this, the committee advised the legal heirs to approach the civil courts concerned for issuance of death certificates and observed that the ministry was bound to present evidence in the court for issuance of death certificates of 11 unidentified bodies for issuance of compensation through Postal Life Insurance.

The committee emphasised that the federal government should consider the request of the legal heirs for more compensation and a summary of the Ministry of Railways on this matter should be accepted.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2020