Suburban train services restored; Lalu salutes Mumbaikars

New Delhi, July 12 (UNI) All suburban train services in Mumbai, which were dislocated yesterday following the devastating serial blasts, have been restored since this morning as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad saluted the courage and selfless spirit of Mumbaikars in the face of terror attacks.

''All suburban train services on the Church Gate-Virar-Borivili route, besides main line services, have been restored,'' a Railway Ministry official said today.

The official said as of now, 183 people had died in the bomb blasts, 157 commuters sustained grievous injuries while 187 received minor injuries. Besides, 372 people, who received trivial injuries, left for their homes after being administered first aid.

''Of the 180 dead, 76 have been identified. All the injured people have been admitted to hospitals and the needy patients provided with fresh clothes. The critically injured people requiring special care have been shifted to speciality hospitals,'' he said.

However, Mumbai police put the toll at 183.

Mr Prasad, who visited the blast sites last night along with his deputy Naranbhai J. Rathwa and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, announced a compensation of Rs five lakh for those killed, Rs 50,000 for those grievously injured and Rs 10,000 for those with simple injuries.

The Railway Minister said he had ordered for provision of temporary cell phone connections to the injured people who were admitted in hospitals to enable them to communicate with their relatives.

''This is a moment of great sorrow and utter tragedy. We are prepared for the challenge. My ministry is fully geared towards providing relief to the victims,'' he said.

He also lauded the exemplary efforts of the people of Mumbai in providing relief to the victims and rescuing some of the commuters.

Meanwhile, the identification of bodies is continuing, and the Railways are making arrangements for flashing photographs of those which have remained unidentified.

A total seven bomb blasts last evening in Mumbai, involving seven trains at as many locations, had disrupted the Western Railway suburban section.

Railway Board Chairman J P Batra, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director General A K Suri and Member (Traffic), Railway Board, S B Ghosh Dastidar had also accompanied the Railway Minister on his visit to the blast sites.

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