Coimbatore: Union Minister of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya on January 20 asked the Assam government to immediately take steps to nab those responsible for the bomb blast on a track in Karbi Anglong district, which resulted in the derailment of Kamrup Express.

"The incident should be seriously viewed and the state government should immediately act to bring the persons behind it to book," Dattatreya said.

Since the security aspect was a state subject and the reason for the derailment was a bomb blast, the government should find out the truth, he said.

Stating that the challenging task before the railways was to fulfill safety measures, he said the Railway Ministry was carrying out works to strengthen the old bridges, renew tracks and modernise signalling systems from the Rs 17,000 crore Rail Safety Fund, sanctioned by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The ministry, at its recent review meeting, had decided to make higher officials, including general managers, accountable for accidents and given them powers to purchase necessary safety equipment, he said.

The railways had also started a Rs 10 crore "Railneer" scheme in order to provide pure drinking water to commuters. It would be extended to all important centres after ascertaining the success of the scheme in Delhi and Patna, where it was first implemented, he added.

PTI