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Daily News & Analysis
Thursday, April 17, 2008
41 children perish in killer canal after GSRTC bus veers off bridge
• Disaster strikes in Bodeli, close to Vadodara• 32 girls among the victims
Maulik Buch. Bodeli-Vadodara
At least 41 schoolchildren were sent spinning into a dive of death when a GSRTC bus in which they were travelling to take an exam plunged into a Narmada canal in Bodeli taluka, on Wednesday. Three others, including the driver and the conductor of the bus, were also killed in the accident, which happened at 6.15 am. Four brave children who managed to wriggle out of the mangle of bodies and twisted metal were rescued by passers-by as they tried to swim shore.The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, but initial investigations revealed that the vehicle veered out of control and ploughed into the railing of the canal bridge, falling into the 20 foot deep canal. The GJ-18 C 3657 bus was carrying schoolchildren from the villages of Bamroli, Patana, Totarmata, Suryaghoda, Dharoliya, Samdhi, Popadiya, Salpura and Taragol for their annual exams. The children were students of Navjivan high school, Mahabhagwati high school and HH Shirolivala high school of Bodeli, and were in the age group of 12 to 16 years. Within minutes of the accident, people from nearby villages were galvanised into a rescue operation. Their efforts were, however, impeded because the bus was completely submerged. At around 8.00 am, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited chairman, Naran Patel, ordered that the gates of the Narmada dam be shut. And, the gates downstream were opened to reduce the level of water in the canal, but till 11.00 am the level had come down only by 4 feet.The villagers extricated the victims before the strong currents of the canal could wash them away. They also pressed into service a private crane to pull out the bus. Some 15 children were found dead inside the bus. Some of the victims were removed with the help of fishing nets. By the time the district disaster management personnel reached the site, at around 8.00 am, the villagers had already done most of the work. A heated argument ensued when the police tried to tow away the bus, an act that hindered rescue work. The police, however, later relented and allowed the villagers to take out the bodies before removing the bus. The bodies of the victims were sent to the Bodeli Dhokaliya general hospital for postmortem. Bodeli has announced a one-day bandh to mourn the deaths. State transport minister Amit Shah and water resources minister Nitin Patel reached the accident site around noon. The state government has announced Rs1.5 lakh as compensation for victims families. It has also formed a high-level panel to investigate the accident.
Daily News & Analysis
Thursday, April 17, 2008
41 children perish in killer canal after GSRTC bus veers off bridge
• Disaster strikes in Bodeli, close to Vadodara• 32 girls among the victims
Maulik Buch. Bodeli-Vadodara
At least 41 schoolchildren were sent spinning into a dive of death when a GSRTC bus in which they were travelling to take an exam plunged into a Narmada canal in Bodeli taluka, on Wednesday. Three others, including the driver and the conductor of the bus, were also killed in the accident, which happened at 6.15 am. Four brave children who managed to wriggle out of the mangle of bodies and twisted metal were rescued by passers-by as they tried to swim shore.The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, but initial investigations revealed that the vehicle veered out of control and ploughed into the railing of the canal bridge, falling into the 20 foot deep canal. The GJ-18 C 3657 bus was carrying schoolchildren from the villages of Bamroli, Patana, Totarmata, Suryaghoda, Dharoliya, Samdhi, Popadiya, Salpura and Taragol for their annual exams. The children were students of Navjivan high school, Mahabhagwati high school and HH Shirolivala high school of Bodeli, and were in the age group of 12 to 16 years. Within minutes of the accident, people from nearby villages were galvanised into a rescue operation. Their efforts were, however, impeded because the bus was completely submerged. At around 8.00 am, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited chairman, Naran Patel, ordered that the gates of the Narmada dam be shut. And, the gates downstream were opened to reduce the level of water in the canal, but till 11.00 am the level had come down only by 4 feet.The villagers extricated the victims before the strong currents of the canal could wash them away. They also pressed into service a private crane to pull out the bus. Some 15 children were found dead inside the bus. Some of the victims were removed with the help of fishing nets. By the time the district disaster management personnel reached the site, at around 8.00 am, the villagers had already done most of the work. A heated argument ensued when the police tried to tow away the bus, an act that hindered rescue work. The police, however, later relented and allowed the villagers to take out the bodies before removing the bus. The bodies of the victims were sent to the Bodeli Dhokaliya general hospital for postmortem. Bodeli has announced a one-day bandh to mourn the deaths. State transport minister Amit Shah and water resources minister Nitin Patel reached the accident site around noon. The state government has announced Rs1.5 lakh as compensation for victims families. It has also formed a high-level panel to investigate the accident.
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