New Delhi, April 26: In a horrific accident, which took place today morning, a school bus and train collided with each other at an unmanned crossing in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. As per news reports the school van was carrying more than 20 children, and out of them 13 are dead, and several other injured kids are critical. According to an ANI report,a shocking statement comes from the Railway Board Chairman, Ashwani Lohani, who washes his hands off and says, "Basically, people have to be careful while crossing rail tracks, there is no substitute for that. We can't take any step that is full proof against negligence."

India has more than 30,000 level-crossings at which vehicles can cross the railway tracks. Of these, more than 11,000 are unmanned crossings, and this is where most of the accidents occur. In 2017, the Railway Minister said in an event at IIM Calcutta that by 2018 all unmanned crossings will be eliminated! He said the target of removing all unmanned level crossings could be achieved within a year, instead of the initial goal of doing it in three years. He was quoted "Initially, the Railways had a target of removing all unmanned crossings in three years. But, I told them, why not do it within a year," and later took on tweeter to reassure us “Govt. to work in mission mode to eliminate unmanned railway crossings within one year, ensuring the safety of passengers.” In fact, Rs. 700 cr was allocated in 2018-19 to focus on the elimination of unmanned level crossings.

Earlier in the day, Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased victims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences and was quoted as saying. "I am extremely saddened on hearing about the death of 11 school students in a collision between a school van and a train in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar. UP government and railway dept will take appropriate action."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2018 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).