Odisha: Railway Claims Tribunal benches to settle claims of Utkal Express accident victims

Bhubaneswar: Special benches of the Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) would conduct hearings at six places, including in Bhubaneswar, to expeditiously settle the compensation claims of the victims of the recent Kalinga Utkal Express and Kaifiyat Express train accidents.

The chairman of the RCT has directed the special benches to inquire into and decide on the compensation claims of the victims of the two derailments so that the compensation amount could be disbursed without any delay, a statement from the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said.

While the 18477 Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express had derailed on August 19, the 12225 Azamgarh-Delhi Kaifiyat Express met with an accident on August 23 in Uttar Pradesh, it added.

The special benches will be held at the RCT headquarters in Delhi and at five other places — Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar — from September 11 to 15.

In Bhubaneswar, the special RCT bench would sit in the Odisha Forest Development Corporation Limited building, the statement said.

Those who had sustained injuries or suffered any loss, any agent authorised by a victim on his behalf, the guardian of a minor victim or a dependent of a deceased could apply for compensation with an original copy of a document establishing his identity such as the Aadhaar card, voter identity card, ration card, family register etc, it added.