Eight pilgrims from Punjab were killed when their vehicle rolled down a gorge at Swarghat on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh on Friday.
The deceased have been identified as Mandeep Singh (28), Jasweer Singh (28), Gurwinder Singh (33), Baljeet Singh (22), Devinder Singh (32), Pradeep ( 21), Kanwaljeet Singh (19) and Kanwaljeet Singh (age not known).
The police have registered a case but could not ascertain the cause of accident so far. Preliminary probe suggests that failure of brakes may have caused the mishap.
Amritsar residents shocked; compensation announced
Even as shock of the Hemkund Sahib tragedy in which eight pilgrims including four from an Amritsar village went missing is fresh, another such mishap in Himachal Pradesh has shaken Amritsar residents.
The deceased hailed from different areas of Amritsar district, with a majority of those killed from Ghanupur Kale, situated in the Amritsar-west assembly segment.
Congress MLA from Amritsar-west Raj Kumar Verka along with councillors visited the families. On behalf of Punjab government, Verka announced Rs 2 lakh per casualty to each victim family. He said the Himachal Pradesh government has also announced Rs 4 lakh to victim family each. On the spot, he gave Rs. 20,000 to the aggrieved families each.
{{/usCountry}}Congress MLA from Amritsar-west Raj Kumar Verka along with councillors visited the families. On behalf of Punjab government, Verka announced Rs 2 lakh per casualty to each victim family. He said the Himachal Pradesh government has also announced Rs 4 lakh to victim family each. On the spot, he gave Rs. 20,000 to the aggrieved families each.
{{/usCountry}}Verka said the accident has shaken entire area. “Even as Holi is being celebrated today with enthusiasm, but due to this shocking incident, people of this area have decided to not celebrate this festival. Everybody should stand by the victim families at this time”, he added.
Last rites of the deceased are being performed on Saturday.