Pauri bus accident: DM announces compensation to victims

The district magistrate of Pauri on Monday announced a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the bus accident here and ₹10,000 to the injured

The district magistrate of Pauri on Monday announced a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the bus accident here and ₹10,000 to the injured.

Forty-eight people died and 12 others sustained injuries when a private bus they were travelling in fell into a 100-metre deep gorge near Gween village, close to Dhumakot, in Pauri. (AFP)

This is in addition to ₹2 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 to each injured announced by chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday.

Forty-eight people died and 12 others sustained injuries when a private bus they were travelling in fell into a 100-metre deep gorge near Gween village, close to Dhumakot, in Pauri. The 28-seater bus was reportedly carrying 60 passengers.

“There are some lessons to be learnt from this accident,” DM Sushil Kumar said. He said rescue equipment and disaster management tool kits such as stretchers, cutters, ropes and others would be distributed to all the tehsils and police stations of different blocks instead of keeping them at district headquarters.

CM has already ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident. Kamlesh Mehta, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Lansdowne along with assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) of Ramnagar and executive engineer Public Works Department (PWD) of Baijro will conduct inquiry.

The administration would also arrange adequate number of buses as overloading occurs mainly due to the paucity of public transport on the link roads in the rural areas where natives return in large number during the summer holidays and most of the buses operate on Chardham route, said Kumar.

Reports claim that the driver may have lost control of the vehicle while avoiding a pothole on the road.