E-Paper
9 children killed as van falls into gorge
Dehradun: Nine school children were killed and another 11 injured when a multi-utility vehicle in which they were travelling plunged into a 70-metre deep gorge in
Dehradun: Nine school children were killed and another 11 injured when a multi-utility vehicle in which they were travelling plunged into a 70-metre deep gorge in the Madannegi area of Tehri Garhwal district on Tuesday, about 160km away from capital Dehradun, said district police officials. The children were on their way to school from their village, Kangsali when the accident happened.
Residents of Kangsali alleged that the driver didn’t turn up for work, but his son, who doesn’t have a driving licence did. they also claimed that the vehicle was overloaded.
“The incident happened around 7.30 am when the driver was unable to negotiate a deep curve due to heavy rains. The bus skid off the road and fell into the gorge. Local residents reached the spot of the accident and started the rescue operation. Two of the children died on the spot while seven others succumbed during treatment in the district hospital,” said V Shanmugam, district magistrate, Tehri Garhwal.
It isn’t clear whether the vehicle was a school van or simply one being used to ferry school children. The Uttarakhand High Court in 2018 ordered the inspection of all vehicles ferrying school children in the state capital Dehradun.
Five of the 11 injured, who were in critical condition, were airlifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), he said, adding that considering the seriousness of the accident, a helicopter was arranged.
Shanmugam said a case of causing death by negligent driving has been registered against the van driver, who is absconding, and efforts are being made to arrest him.
Praveen Alok, an SDRF official said the dead children were in the age group of 4-13 years and added that the SDRF team reached the spot after receiving information about the incident from the district control room at around 9am.
Darmiyan Singh of Kangsali village, who lost his two sons, 5 and 6, said the distance between the village and school was only about 2.5 kms. “The road (connecting the village to the school) was not widened because of its very short length despite our repeated requests. We have lost 11 children because of government apathy.” he dropped his sons at a bus stop in the morning.
Another villager, Vijay Ram Juyal, accused the local administration of failing to keep a check on overloading of public transport vehicles.
“The major cause behind today’s tragedy is overloading. The multi-utility-vehicle has capacity of 11 persons but was ferrying 21 people. The driver did not turn up today and his son, an inexperienced person without a driving licence, was at the wheel,” he said. HT couldn’t independently verify this.
Juyal alleged that the driver saved himself by jumping from the vehicle, when it skid, without thinking about the children. “Since the accident, the driver and his father are missing. We want strict action against them by the administration.”
Shanmugam said the administration is aware of the allegations and assured villagers that strict action will be taken after an investigation. “A case will soon be registered and there will be a magisterial inquiry also.” he also promised compensation to the families of the deceased.
Uttarakhand transport minister, Yashpal Arya, suspended the assistant regional transport officer, Tehri Garhwal, Nikhilesh Ojha. “There seems to be a clear negligence on part of the ARTO who failed to check on the overloading of vehicles due to which the accident took place,” Arya said.
