Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday went to Raj Bhavan to brief governor BL Joshi about the Allahabad railway station stampede in which 36 people were killed on Sunday evening. The governor, who cut short his New Delhi visit to be back in Lucknow, apparently wanted to go to Allahabad to have a firsthand account of the stampede. As a result, the CM rushed back from Etawah to brief him about the incident. On his part, the chief minister also raised the compensation to the next of kin of those killed to R7 lakh from R 5 lakh announced earlier. Also, the assistance for the seriously injured has been increased to R 2 lakh from R 1 lakh. Those who have sustained minor injuries will get R 1 lakh.

“The governor is concerned. Everybody in the government is sad about the incident,” said chief minister while speaking to journalists after meeting the governor. “We have sent panchayati raj minister Balram Yadav and transport minister Durga Prasad Yadav to Allahabad to monitor the relief work,” said the chief minister. “Chief secretary Javed Usmani and director general of police AC Sharma have also been sent to the spot,” he said. “The officers are busy making arrangements to ensure that the pilgrims reach their respective destinations safely,” he added.

He advised the media to be cautious about the language used while reporting such issues. Earlier, the CM went to the residence of advocate Arvind Kumar Tiwari in Etawah to pay his condolences to the bereaved family. Tiwari had died in the stampede.