PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Haldwani
Seven persons died and 12 were injured when the bus they were travelling in fell down the mountainside in the Bhikiyasain area of Almora district on Tuesday morning. On the directions of district magistrate Anshul Singh, a total of Rs 14 lakh has been approved as ex-gratia for the next-of-kin of those who died in the accident.
According to official sources, the police received information at about 8:30 AM about a bus having fallen down the mountainside on the Vinayak-Dwarahat Road near Bhikiyasain. The police reached the accident site along with rescue equipment. The rescue operation was conducted with the help of local residents.
According to the police the bus number UK07 PA 4025 was being driven from Dwarahat to Ramnagar when the driver reportedly lost control, causing the vehicle to fall about 50 metres down the mountainside. A total of 19 persons including the driver were in the bus when the mishap occurred at about 7:30 AM. The police and locals rescued the injured and extricated the bodies. The dead have been identified as Govind Ballabh (80), Parvati Devi (75), Nandan Singh (65), Govindi Devi (58), Tara Devi (50), Ganesh (25) and Umesh (25).
Since the vehicle involved in the mishap was in the public service category, the district magistrate directed ex-gratia for the next-of-kin of those who died in the mishap. A sum of Rs 14 lakh has been approved for this purpose which was transferred from the Uttarakhand Road Transport Accident Relief Fund, Almora to the Bhikiyasain Tehsildar so that it can be provided to the next-of-kin of the dead. Expressing deep grief at the mishap, the DM appealed for special focus on road safety rules so that such accidents do not occur in the future.
