Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005
Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 |
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By Suresh Bhat
The ill-fated bus with the bodies being pulled out of the canal on Monday morning. — Photo: Suresh Bhat
BIJAPUR, JAN. 10. Fifty-seven passengers, including 12 women and three children, were killed when a bus plunged into the Alamatti left bank canal, near the Alamatti Dam, 65 km. from here, early on Monday. The accident occurred just after the bus left the bus stand at the Alamatti Dam site, one km. from Nidagundi, around 2.10 a.m. Most of the victims were from Bagalkot, Bijapur, and Gulbarga districts. The tragedy wiped out all but two of a 10-member family from Bagalkot town. Four persons, including the bus conductor, escaped with injuries.
Ex gratia
The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, who visited the spot in the afternoon along with the Transport Minister, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, announced an ex gratia of Rs. 2.15 lakhs each to the families of the deceased. He ordered a high-level inquiry into the circumstances leading to the accident. Those who survived the tragedy alleged that the conductor, Siddappa Pujari, was responsible for the tragedy as he took the driver's seat from the regular driver, Venkat Reddy (among the dead), at the Alamatti pick-up bus stand. Girish Lokare, a junior engineer attached to HESCOM and a few linemen who were on night duty, were the first to arrive at the spot. By then, two persons had swum ashore while two others were standing on the top of the bus. Mr. Gurunath Reddy, one of the survivors, managed to hold the head of his wife, Shantamma (40), but her trunk got stuck in the window and she died. Later, he swam ashore along with another survivor, Mahadev Reddy, a relative of his. According to Mr. Lokare, though the bus was under water, the lights were on, and they could see the passengers inside the bus. The nearby Nidagundi police station was alerted about the tragedy. The police, the zilla panchayat member, Basavaraj Kumbar, and some others arrived at the spot. The Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Mohsin, and the Superintendent of Police, Seemanth Kumar Singh, arrived there along with a medical team and additional police forces from Bijapur. The Irrigation authorities were asked to stop the water release into the canal. Boatmen and divers were pressed into service. But not much progress could be made till dawn as the bus had fallen on the side of its exit door. When one crane could not lift the bus, two more were pressed into service.
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