Fewer mishaps, croons Minister

Unfazed by the accident of Hyderabad-Bangalore Express in Andhra Pradesh early yesterday, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar informed the media h...

Unfazed by the accident of Hyderabad-Bangalore Express in Andhra Pradesh early yesterday, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar informed the media here this evening that ‘‘over the years the number of accidents has come down.’’

Nitish, who laid the foundation stone for a new local railway route between Howrah Station and Belur Math and later flagged off an EMU train in the new Brasat-Hasnabad electrified route, told media: ‘‘Let’s not jump to conclusions (on sabotage theory).’’

Insisting that the number of accidents has really gone down, the minister said: ‘‘In an era of information revolution, with their ability to report things faster, it’s just an impression that the number’s going up.’’

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Going back some 40 years, the minister said: ‘‘Records show that in the 60s, we had about 2,500 rail accidents per year. Now, the number’s down to 400-450 per year.’’

Nitish also denied that he ever ‘‘attributed the Rajdhani accident to sabotage. I never said so,’’ hastening to add that the Railway Commissioner of Safety has submitted a report on Rajdhani accident.

The allocation for Railway Safety Fund, the minister said , ‘‘will be nothing less than Rs 2,210 crore which would be mobilised from the passenger fare structure and major part would come from Union Finance Ministry, with the Railway taking care of any shortfall.’’

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