Title - Chief Minister announces Rs. 1 lakh solatium

Governor K. Rosaiah, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and leaders of political parties in the State conveyed their condolences to the families of passengers who lost their lives in the tragic fire accident in the early hours of Monday on the Tamil Nadu Express bound for Chennai.Ms. Jayalalithaa said she has deputed senior ministers and bureaucrats to visit the accident site in Nellore to take care of the injured passengers from the state and offer condolence to the families of the victims. Expressing deep shock, she said she had granted Rs one lakh to each to the families of the passengers who died in the accident and Rs. 25,000 each to the injured.In a statement, Mr. Rosaiah conveyed his condolences to the bereaved members of the family and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Expressing shock at the incident, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said the Centre has provided Rs. 5 lakh each to the families of victims of the train accident.TNCC president B.S. Gnanadesikan said the spurt in the number of train accidents was reflective of the poor maintenance of compartments and weak safety links.

It was not clear if the railway administration was implementing recommendations based on enquiries into previous accidents. Such fire accidents were unpardonable, he said.

T. R. Baalu, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, said the committee, in its next meeting, would review the reasons behind the tragic accident and submit recommendations to Parliament.

PMK president S. Ramadoss, CPI state president D. Pandian, DMDK president Vijayakant, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and other leaders expressed their condolences.