Monday, 06 June 2022 | PNS | New Tehri
More than two dozen people are feared dead after a bus carrying pilgrims fell into a gorge on the national highway to Yamunotri on Sunday evening. The bus was carrying 28 persons from Panna district of Madhya Pradesh along with the driver and his attendant when it met with the accident near Damta in Uttarkashi district. Of the six persons injured in the mishap, two succumbed while the remaining four persons injured in the mishap were referred to a hospital in Dehradun. According to local officials, till the time of this report being filed, 18 bodies had been recovered and identified while the death toll is expected to reach at least 26. Expressing grief at the mishap, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the accident. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 each. Soon after information about the accident was relayed, Union Home minister Amit Shah expressed grief at the mishap and called chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation. Shortly afterwards, the chief minister reached the disaster management control room in Dehradun to assess the situation and check the rescue and recovery efforts. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also phoned Dhami to enquire about the situation.
Earlier, soon after the accident caused reportedly by the driver losing control of the vehicle, the police and State Disaster Response Force teams reached the site to undertake rescue and relief operations. Later, at the disaster management control room CM Dhami said that the district administration had been directed to respond swiftly after the accident. Officials concerned have also been directed to conduct a probe into the accident.
It should be mentioned here that more than 15 lakh people have visited Uttarakhand for the Char Dham Yatra which began on May 3. About half a dozen road accidents have also occurred on the Yatra circuit so far.
