Passenger bus driver’s reckless driving to overtake causes series of accidents; Man killed, another critical
A passenger bus driver’s reckless driving to overtake another bus with the aim to get more passengers caused a series of accidents that subsequently killed a man and left another woman critical at Bamunigaon village under Daringbadi block of Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday.
Daringbadi: A passenger bus driver’s reckless driving to overtake another bus with the aim to get more passengers caused a series of accidents that subsequently killed a man and left another woman critical at Bamunigaon village under Daringbadi block of Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday.
As per information, two private buses namely Vikrant and Padmalaya were heading towards Berhampur from Godapur village under Bamunigaon Police station limits at around 6 AM today.
The drivers were driving the buses at a high speed as they were competing with each other to reach Bamunigaon bus stand first with the aim to pick more number of passengers. However, the driver of the Padmalaya lost control of the vehicle and caused series of accident while trying to overtake Vikrant, which was standing on the road to pick passengers.
The Padmalaya bus reportedly hit a roadside car and two bikes near the Amagaon Office. The intensity of the accident was so severe that the car, with registration no OD07AX8905, flung into the air and crashed into a roadside tea stall causing the death of a man, who was having tea, and leaving the shop owner critically injured.
While the deceased man has been identified as Bandasa Majhi of Dharma Sahi of Bamunigaon village, the critically injured woman, the shop owner, has been identified as Banda Majhi.
Soon after causing the series of accident, the Padmalaya bus attempted to flee from the spot. But some locals waylaid it and caught hold of the driver. Soon, a huge crowd of the villagers gathered on the spot and protested the loss of life due to the driver’s reckless driving.
The angry locals soon staged a road blockade by placing the body on the road, which disrupted movement of vehicles from Daringbadi to Berhampur. They demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the family members of Bandasa Majhi as he was the only member to earn livelihood for the entire family and Rs 10 lakh for Banda Majhi.
Banda was taken to the Bamunigaon Primary Health Centre for treatment. However, the doctors referred her to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur as her condition was extremely critical.
As an acute tension prevailed, the local police arrived at the spot after getting information and attempted to pacify the angry locals and tried to convince them to lift the road blockade. However, the protester demanded a written assurance from him to fulfill their demands. They also sought financial help for the owners of the car and two bikes that were damaged due to the tragic accident.
Later, the local representatives including MLA Managobinda Pradhan reached the village and held a discussion with the locals. On being informed, the Daringbadi Tahasildar too visited Bamunigaon village at around 12 PM and expressed his deep grief over the accident and managed to convince the villagers to lift the road blockade by assuring them to look into their demands.
On the other hand, police though has seized Bandasa Majhi’s dead body but are yet to complete the post-mortem as the pathologist had not reached the village.
