13 school children killed in UP accident
Gorakhpur/New Delhi, April 26 : Thirteen school children were killed and six others seriously injured on Thursday when a train hit their van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar, police said.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kushinagar district, Akhilesh Kumar told IANS that one child and the driver of the van were in critical condition.
The incident took place at the Dudhi Behpurva gate at 7.10 a.m. when the children were headed to the Divine Public School. The injured were rushed to Pandrauna Hospital which is 30 km from the accident site.
Railways spokesperson Ved Prakash told IANS that the children died on the spot as the Siwan-Gorakhpur passenger train crashed into the van at the crossing, 100 km from Gorakhpur.
According to a North Eastern (NE) Railway official, at least 25 people, mostly children below the age of 10 years were travelling in the van when the incident occurred.
The train was on its way to Gorakhpur from Siwan.
Chief Minister Adityanath's office instructed district authorities to undertake rescue and relief operations immediately.
An accident relief medical train from Gorakhpur was dispatched to the site, the NE official said. Several senior officials have also rushed to the accident site. An inquiry has been ordered.
According to the Railway Ministry, it was an unmanned level crossing with Gate Mitra deployed there.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal expressed his grief over the accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each to the kin of the victims.
"I am saddened by the news of school children dying in a train accident. I have spoken to senior railway officials and ordered an inquiry into it," Goyal said in a tweet.
Adityanath directed the Divisional Commissioner of Gorakhpur to conduct a probe into the incident. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each to the families of the deceased.
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Smriti Irani being considered as BJP face for Delhi poll campaign, other names also on table: Report
Delhi: The increased involvement of Smriti Irani in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activities in Delhi has stirred discussions within the party's local unit regarding her potential candidacy in the upcoming 2025 assembly elections. For the first time in a decade, the BJP is considering projecting a face for its Delhi election campaign, with Irani's name among those in contention.
The recent meeting included discussions about several potential names who could be the face of the BJP for their Delhi poll campaign, including Irani, who previously lost the Lok Sabha election in Amethi to Congress's Kishori Lal, a senior BJP leader told The Indian Express. Other names mentioned include Praveen Khandelwal, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Manoj Tiwari, and Bansuri Swaraj. “Several possibilities are on the table, including fielding Smriti ji, regarding whom the national leadership is in the process of taking the final decision. Or, the party may bet on an incumbent Lok Sabha MP popular enough to pull the party through the Delhi Assembly elections. If an MP gets elected CM, they may then be replaced by a former Union Minister,” added the BJP functionary.
An insider revealed to the publication that the saffron party is contemplating a unified campaign strategy for the Delhi elections, marking a significant shift since the party last did so in 2015. This topic was addressed among senior leaders during a meeting held at the party's DDU Marg headquarters on the same day that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Delhi Chief Minister, handing leadership to Atishi. The source revealed that the Union Ministers present in the meeting asked for suggestions on whom the party could project as the face of its Delhi election campaign based on various criteria.
In addition to selecting a campaign face, BJP leadership is reportedly also considering a larger role for its Delhi MPs, keeping adequate caste and community representation in mind.. “As far as the MPs are concerned, they are being assessed based on their popularity as well as the caste and community they belong to. The party may go in for significant organisational changes in Delhi during Navratri in October after the conclusion of the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections,” a BJP leader told IE.
