Seven labourers killed, 10 injured in Belagavi mishap
All the deceased were workers who were travelling from Gokak in Belagavi, said Karnataka labour minister Shivaram Hebbar.
Atleast seven labourers were killed and 10 others were injured in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, about 500 km from Bengaluru, after the vehicle they were travelling in was involved in an accident on Sunday.
All the deceased were workers who were travelling from Gokak in Belagavi, said Karnataka labour minister Shivaram Hebbar.
The accident took place when the multi-utility vehicle (MUV) they were travelling in overturned in Kanabaragi village near Belagavi, said an official aware of the developments.
“Seven workers were killed when their cruiser vehicle met with an accident near Belagavi. Those among the deceased who have labour department cards will get ₹5 lakh from the Karnataka Building And Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. The other four will be given ₹3 lakh on humanitarian grounds,” Hebbar said.
The incident has brought fore the problem of vehicles overloading the passengers. In rural Karnataka, it is not uncommon to see vehicles taking more than its actual capacity, sometimes speeding on highways as workers depend on such modes of transportation for daily incomes.
Reacting to the news, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said,“It is most tragic that seven people have lost their lives in the road accident near Belagavi.”
“Many are seriously injured. Arrangements have been made for free treatment of the injured. It has been decided to distribute ₹5 lakh as a solatium for each of the families of those who were killed and another ₹2 lakh each from the deputy commissioner of the district. Those injured would be provided free treatment by the government,” the chief minister said on Sunday.
Earlier this month, 11 people were injured after a state government-run passenger bus collided with a lorry in Karnataka’s Vijayanagara district on Wednesday morning, the fifth major accident in the state this year, police said. This is the sixth major accident reported in Karnataka this year, and 26 people have lost their lives so far in the road mishaps, according to police data.
The previous accident was reported in the Kalburgi district on June 3, where seven people died. In the accident reported on May 22 in Dharwad, eight were killed. Before the Dharwad accident, a multi-utility vehicle rammed into a tree near the Hubballi-Dharwad region, killing at least eight people and seriously injuring 13 others on May 21. Four people died, and over 25 others were injured after an overloaded bus overturned in Pavagada in Tumkuru district on March 22, HT had reported.
Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Mukhtar Ansari Death News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.