12 people, including six women, killed in Himachal accident
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Jul, 2022 11:23 AM
Shimla, July 4 (IANS) Twelve people, six of them women, were killed and three others injured on Monday when a private bus rolled into a gorge in the interiors of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, police said.
Most of the victims were locals and the bus was on its way from Shainshar to Kullu. The accident occurred close to Shainshar in the Sainj valley.
Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said the Sainj-bound bus fell into the gorge at around 9.15 a.m.
The injured have been admitted to Regional Hospital in Kullu town.
Eyewitnesses said the administration has been facing a tough time extricating the victims from the badly-mangled bus.
People in the area began the rescue operation even before the local authorities reached the spot.
Expressing grief over the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the bus accident in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu is heart-rending and announced Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives.
"The bus accident in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh is heart-rending. In this tragic hour my thoughts are with the bereaved families," Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.
"I hope those injured recover at the earliest. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected," he said.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased, whereas Rs 15,000 as immediate relief for the injured. He said free treatment would be provided to the injured.
Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh had directed the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, and the Divisional Commissioner of Mandi to reach the accident spot to supervise the rescue operation.
Channi expressed regret while participating in a virtual meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi with Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of states and UTs to review the prevailing Covid situation as well as the ongoing vaccination drive.
Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people."
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that he "personally" feels that alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab had cost the BJP heavily.
India on Tuesday recorded 1,68,063 new Covid cases, taking the total tally to 8,21,446. Although the fresh infections were 6.4 per cent less than Monday when the country logged 1,79,723, the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 8.85 per cent and the daily positivity rate has declined to 10.64 per cent. On the other hand, 4,461 Omicron cases were recorded from 28 states.
Delhi reported a 25 per cent surge in Covid-19 cases after recording 19,166 fresh cases. With this, the infection tally has climbed to 15,68,896. Meanwhile, the city has recorded 17 Covid deaths on the second consecutive day, pushing the death toll to 25,177.
On Monday, after a detailed hearing in the matter, a bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, said the court will set up a committee headed by a retired top court judge to probe the PM's security breach and asked both the Centre and Punjab government to not move ahead with their respective inquiries into the matter.
