Rlys bear treatment costs of injured trackmen

KOCHI: The railways, which had been delaying relief to two trackmen who sustained severe leg injuries while on duty, has at last met the treatment expenses of the them that ran into lakhs of rupees.The ‘Express’ had on Wednesday reported that the railways was delaying the administrative process, even though the requests for meeting the hospital expenses by the victims were sent to the railways on January 4.  The railways sanctioned `5.7 lakh for the treatment expenses of P V Bhaskaran and T K Mani and the cheque was handed over to them at the Amrita Hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Welfare inspector of the railways Mohana Chandran handed over the cheque.P V Bhaskaran and T K Mani, two railway trackmen under the permanent way section engineer in Aluva, sustained leg injuries when they were unloading bits of rails from a mini lorry on January 2. They were rushed to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences here where they underwent major surgeries. The treatment expenses came to `5.5 lakh.     “I am extremely happy that I received the money. I had expected the money would be sanctioned but not so soon,” 58-year-old Bhaskaran said. Mani, also expressed his happiness. Though Bhaskaran was discharged five days ago, he had to remain in the hospital as the bills were not settled. Mani, who had sustained severe injuries, is still awaiting recovery and is expecting to be discharged soon. Both of them from economically backward families have served the railways for more than three decades.The Southern Railway Mazdoor Union had been fighting for the last so many days for getting the treatment expenses sanctioned by the railways. Union president T Unnikrishnan has said that though the money had been allotted, the authorities cannot wash their hands off their responsibilities towards the employees.