Other States - Orissa   

Lone survivor recuperating

Sasmita Satpathy, survivor of the Uttarkhand bus tragedy, with her relatives at the MKCG Medical College in Berhampur on Thursday night.

BERHAMPUR: Sasmita Satpathy, the sole survivor of the bus accident in Uttarakhand on Oct 11, which claimed 45 lives of pilgrims, reached her home district, Ganjam on Thursday night. She was admitted to the ICU of MKCG medical college hospital in the city, where she would be kept for next two days before she is discharged to return back to her village Birjagannathpur in Beguniapada block.

Doctors at AIIMS, New Delhi who had treated her after the accident as well as the doctors treating her at MKCG medical college hospital, opined that she had very little physical injury except some abrasions and a collar bone fracture. But she would have to face the great shock of losing all members of her family in the accident in near future. As precautionary measure outsiders were not being allowed to meet and talk with her.

Fate saved Sasmita in this accident that claimed lives of her parents, brother and sister. This +2 student of Birjagannathpur College of Ganjam district has faced the huge combined burden of mortality of life. Her father Simanchal Satpathy, a sanskrit teacher of Mardaraj High School at Beguniapada, had preferred to take his whole family of five members on this pilgrimage of Uttarakhand. Simanchal, his wife Pramila Satpathy, daughter Rasmita Satpathy and son, Gopalkrushna Satpathy died in the accident leaving Sasmita to face the world all alone.

Relatives of Sasmita have started to come out to extend their love and adopt Sasmita. They include her three maternal uncles, sister of her father and his paternal uncle and aunt. Narayan Pani, a maternal uncle of Sasmita said, "We want her to get well first and accept the greatest shock of her life. We all would try to be with her till she gets over her mental trauma". The administrative officials are also concerned about the proper adoption and rehabilitation of Sasmita as she is to inherit the ex gratia payments declared by Orissa and Uttarakhand Governments for the family members of victims of this accident.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Literary magazines woo readers and writers alike
U-13 eves football tourney
Help in sight for weavers
Hooch toll rises to 8
Cycle rally
Rural Orissa in the grip of puja fever
High-level meet to discuss coastal erosion
Row over boundary leads to tension
Rail track to be closed for two more days
Lone survivor recuperating
Lucky ones felicitated

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu