Sindh govt distributes cheques to Tezgam victims, families

KARACHI: Sindh Minority Affairs and Food Minister Hari Ram Kishori Lal distributed compensation cheques on Sunday for 40 of those killed and injured in the Tezgam train inferno.

The cheque distribution ceremony was held at the Mirpurkhas deputy commissioner's (DC) office.

At least 74 lives were lost when a blaze ignited by a cooking gas cylinder blast swept through a passenger train that was en route to Rawalpindi from Karachi. The tragedy took place on October 31, 2019, near Rahim Yar Khan.

One of the carriages was carrying several people from Mirpurkhas, from whom 40 were killed.

As per the government's promise following the tragedy, the families of the deceased were paid Rs500,000 each, the critically injured were paid Rs100,000 and moderately injured passengers were paid Rs50,000 each.

Speaking at the occasion, Lal said that the provincial government shared the grief of the losses that had occurred as a result of the tragic incident, adding that despite extreme financial difficulties, the provincial government stood by its promise to compensate the aggrieved citizens. "Nothing is more valuable than the sacrifices of the martyrs," he maintained, while criticising Pakistan Railways and Federal Railway Minister Shaikh Rasheed for failing to abide by their pledge to compensate the victims of the tragedy.

Lal also promised to talk to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah about providing jobs for the deceased's family members who had been left without breadwinners.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2020.