Angry villagers stop Sanjay Nishad from meeting families of Kanpur accident victims

Area residents also claimed that they tried to contact the minister following the accident but his staff didn’t put him through.

Anguished over the tragic tractor-trolley accident that claimed 27 lives on Saturday night, angry villagers stopped the convoy of Sanjay Nishad, minister for fisheries and Nishad party president, who was en route to meet bereaved families in the district’s Kortha village. Locals were unhappy with the leader as it took him over 48 hours to come to meet the affected families despite the victims being from the Nishad community, which is considered to be his loyal voter base.

A tractor trolley carrying people returning from Unnao met with an accident as it overturned in Ghatampur area in Kanpur district on Saturday. (FILE PHOTO)

Area residents also claimed that they tried to contact the minister following the accident but his staff didn’t put him through. It took more than an hour for Nishad and his supporters to pacify the villagers. However, the villagers finally relented and allowed him to meet the families of the accident victims.

Subsequently, the minister offered his condolence to the families and announced that the education expense of their children will be looked after through the “Machua” fund.

Nishad also spoke to Raj Shekhar, the commissioner of the Kanpur division, and directed action against “negligent” officials, including the lekhpal, kanoongo and doctors. “All possible help will be extended to the families. We are in touch with the government and are taking up the issue,” he said.

He also accused the SP and BSP of politicising the accident. “The workers of these parties opposed me, it was all staged; the government has stood firmly with the people. We will make sure that action is taken negligent officials,” he said.