Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Feb 13: The wheels of a private bus moved over the leg of a girl student and seriously injured her at Vittal bus stand on Thursday February 12. Vidyashree, daughter of Nagappa Gowda from Kantadka in Alike in the taluk suffered fracture and injuries in this accident.

The accident occurred when Vidyashree, a second BCom degree student of the first grade college in Vittal was walking inside the private bus stand for boarding a bus to her college in the morning. Eyewitnesses said that the private bus, which was in a hurry to get into the private bus stand, hit the girl student in the process. As soon as Vidyashree fell to the ground due to the impact, wheels of the bus moved over her legs, injuring her badly.

The student was rushed to Mangaluru where she is being treated in a private hospital.

In a lightening reaction to the incident in which a poor student was badly hurt because of the recklessness of a bus driver, over 200 students of the first grade college of Vittal moved out of their college and held protest. They blocked private buses, came in a procession to the bus stand, and also held a protest demonstration at Vittal Junction.

Students, Samshuddin and Deeksha, who addressed the gathering, expressed anger at the carelessness of private buses, and demanded that the entire treatment expenditure of the poor student be met by the owner of the errant bus.They also wanted the concerned to pay compensation to the parents of the girl. The students observed that a newly constructed circle within the private bus stand has been responsible for causing several accidents in which students were injured of late. They demanded for the removal of the new circle, and for construction of a new circle at the spot where the old circle stood.

Although owners of some private buses approached the students and talked to them, they did not succeed in convincing them to withdraw their protest. After blocking movement of private buses and holding protest for sometime, the students dispersed, noting that people will suffer unduly if the protest is extended. Before dispersing, the students warned that they will continue with their protest on Friday if their demands do not get favourable response.

College students, Naufal, Chetan and others led the protest.