Patna, Jan. 23: Residents of Mirjapur village today expressed discontent with the compensation amount announced for the families of those who died in the train accident in Andhra Pradesh, a day after news came that seven villagers were among the victims.

At least 39 people were killed when the Bhubaneswar-bound Hirakhand Express jumped tracks in Andhra Pradesh's Kuneru and rammed into stationary goods wagons on Saturday night. Mirjapur resident Rajesh Dhami was on the train with 14 other family members, and informed his fellow villagers over phone that seven members of his family had died in the mishap.

The railways have announced Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of those who died in the accident, but the villagers of Mirjapur, in Begusarai's Bara panchayat, around 130km east of Patna, are dejected.

"Why shouldn't we believe that the Centre announced a higher compensation for the Kanpur train accident (the Indore-Rajendranagar Express derailment) because Assembly elections are going to take place in Uttar Pradesh?" said Mirjapur resident Gopal Singh. "The Centre should not discriminate in case of victims of the Kuneru train accident just because no elections are due in Andhra Pradesh."

Anger among the villagers came to the fore when the BJP's Begusarai MP, Bhola Singh, visited the village on Monday to meet the villagers.

Railway sources said the Centre had announced to pay Rs 3.5 lakh compensation to the kin of those who died in the derailment at Pukhrayan near Kanpur in November.

Bara panchayat mukhiya Baby Devi told Singh that she didn't want to make it a political issue but the Centre should follow a uniform policy in case of deaths in train accidents.

Former mukhiya Tinku Rai said the villagers also expect help for the families of the train accident victims from the Bihar government, which had paid Rs 2 lakh to the families of those who had died in the Kanpur mishap.

Echoing the discontent of the villagers, Bhola Singh said he would raise the issue during the budget session of Parliament as he was in favour of uniformity in case of compensation to victims of train accidents.

Singh said he would meet railway minister Suresh Prabhu and apprise him about the demand of the villagers.

Sharing the Bihar government's stand on compensation to the families of those lost in the accident at Kuneru in Vizianagram of Andhra Pradesh, senior member in the Nitish Kumar cabinet Bijendra Yadav said the families would definitely be helped and compensation announced after the government gathered all the details about the victims from official sources.