Udupi: Muloor Roadcrash Backlash - Stones Pelted at Speeding Buses
by our special correspondent reporting from Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (MB)
Pic RK Durga Digitals
Udupi, May 30: Hundreds of lives have been lost in the past few years on the stretch between Mangalore and Shirur on the national highway 17 between because of negligent driving, bad roads and lack of safeguards. Nothing much has been done by the authorities or people's representatives.
When no one has any concrete solution to the problem, a section of the public of Muloor and around seem to have found a way out, uncivil though, by taking control of the situation into its own hands.
Providential save for little Abdul Arafat
The public outrage and anguish found expression when some sections of the public started pelting stones at the speeding express buses Monday night onwards. Their anger was vented as a backlash of the spine-chilling roadcrash that claimed 17 lives at Muloor on Monday.
Navadurga, Vishal, Hegde Motors and HMT were a few of the buses targeted by the public. The incidents took place between Kaup and Uchila and most of them had their wind shields and panes broken.
On Tuesday morning, two batches of four persons each got into the Nirmala Travels bus separately at Katapady and Kaup and bought tickets with Padubidri and Mulki as destinations. But at Yermal they asked the driver to stop the bus and when it was stopped they abused the driver referring to the earlier day's accident. They also pulled out some large pebbles from their pockets and broke the front wind shield.
When the passengers shouted, they pelted stones at the side window panes also and damaged three of them.
A case has been registered at the Padubidri police station.
Update on the injured
Fifteen of the injured are being treated at Hi-tech Hospital in Udupi. Three are in the CCU and another three are in the ICU. Two others have been moved to Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. The sole injured passenger admitted to A J Hospital in Mangalore has undergone a surgery. Yet another three are recuperating in Adarsh Hospital, Udupi.
The deceased
Three of the deceased were buried in 'qabarstan' (cemetery) of the Muloor mosque on Monday and seven others on Tuesday. Another was buried in burial ground of the Palimar mosque. Over 5,000 people are said to have attended the final rites.
Survivor infant joins mother
Four-month-old Abdul Arafat, who was thrown off the maxi cab upon impact and providentially surviived with minor bruised, brought cheer to his mother Khatija in her severely injured condition in the hospital, when he was reunited with her.
Father sees son's death in own eyes
As a strange quirk of destiny, the father of the maxi cab driver Mohammed Ali was travelling in the same bus. When the collision took place, he is said to have said 'Ya Allah' and when he came out of the bus he had the shock of his life to see his own son's vehice having collided and his son's death.
Cause of accident
The driver of the bus had narrowly missed colliding with an auto and also a car near Katapady while speeding from Udupi. Eyewitnesses say he was speaking on his mobile phone while driving.
On the other hand, while the capacity of the maxi cab was 12+1, the medical records now show 42 persons having travelled in it.
This should be a caution for everyone.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Udupi: Muloor Roadcrash on Monday - Detailed Update
From Daijiworld's special correspondent (MB)
reporting from Muloor and Udupi
Pics RK Durga Digitals
(Please note: In view of the ghastly nature of the accident and disturbing look of the pictures, we have withheld most of them and published only limited ones. - Editor-in-chief)
Udupi, May 29 (6-00 am IST): The people of the district will find it difficult for some time to recover from the shock of one of the worst-ever road accidents that took place on Monday morning at Muloor near here.
The ill-fated passengers in the maxi cab were on their way to attend the wedding of Rahim alias Damu, son of Qadir Beary of Duggan Tota, Muloor, to be held with a bride from Majoor. The bridegroom and most others had already travelled by the first trip.
While plying the last trip - which also became the last journey for the 17 occupants who died - the vehicle had a head-on collision with a bus approaching at a breakneck speed from the other direction, within half a kilometre of the starting point.
On the other hand, the people who had already made it to the venue kept wondering why the rest of the people had not arrived, even though the 'nikah' got over.
Sometime later, when they heard about the mishap, most of them rushed to the spot. By then, the deceased and the injured had been transported to hospitals.
Cane-charge
A large number of the general public from nearby towns also began thronging around, making law and order situation difficult to handle.
The police had to resort to mild caning on the crowds to bring the situation under control. Later on, crowds gathered around Hi-tech and Ajjarkad hospitals in Udupi also.
Immediate help
Kaup MLA Lalaji Mendon rushed to spot on hearing the news and helped in transporting the dead and the injured to hospitals.
JD(S) district president Deviprasad Shetty ensured that the personal belongings of the passengers remained safe and handed them over to the family members.
One of the injured has been admitted to Manipal hospital while another is being treated in A J Hospital in Mangalore.
Siege on leaders
The crowds gheraoed leaders like former CM Veerappa Moily, Lok Sabha member Manorama Madhwaraj, former MP Vinayakumar Sorake and others who arrived on the scene and expressed their anguish over speeding buses, which have claimed several lives during the past few days in particular. They demanded cancellation of permits of the buses which caused the accidents.
Others who visited the spot and hospitals included DC Ponnuraj, SP Dr Subrahmanyewsara Rao, tahsildar Muralidhar, MLA Raghupati Bhat's wife Padmapriya Bhat, former MLA Vasant Salian, former MLA U R Sabhapati, zilla panchayat member Nayana Ganesh, Congress leader Pramod Madhwaraj, district BJP president Kota Srinivas Poojary, M A Gafoor of Congress and district qazi Al Haj Ibrahim Musliar Bekal.
Final rites
The bodies of four deceased were in the Manipal hospital when last reports came in. By Monday evening, bodies of some of the deceased were handed over to the next of kin.
Final rites of ten victims were held in the evening, while those of seven others are expected to be held on Tuesday.
Driver bolts
Some passengers in the bus, who were already in a state of daze and trauma upon seeing the mishap in their eyes, told Daijiworld correspondent that the driving style of the bus driver had kept them out of breath right from Udupi. Already, a while earlier, he had a narrow escape in Katapady, they said.
He is said to have jumped out of the bus and vanished as soon as the accident took place. There was a stampede as the crowds were trying to locate him, even much after mishap happened.
Providential save
A child of about 4 months was thrown off its mother's lap and was found later in a bush on the side of the road. Taluk panchayat member Jagadish Acharya spotted it first and took it to the hospital for first aid and further attention. It has sustained minor bruises and is out of danger. Its mother could not be immediately identified nor any information on her condition was known.
Minister's assurance
District minister-in-charge Dr V S Acharya, upon hearing the news, rushed from Bangalore and visited the spot, hospital, Muloor mosque and the homes of the dead and injured. He assured to discuss the matter of compensation to the victims with the chief minister and the deputy CM in Bangalore on Tuesday.
As no compensation to roadcrash victims was admissible under the existing laws and since only insurance relief was possible, yet, he would request the chief minister to release compensation from his funds under special discretionary powers, he said.
Speed control
He further said he had instructed the deputy commissioner who is also ex-officio head of the regional transport authority to have speed governors installed in all the buses. Speed radar guns would also be installed on the highway and action would be taken against violators, he added.
He also revealed that the DC had been instructed to withdraw the permit of the bus that took so many lives and also cancellation of the driving licence of the driver.
Updates: Monday, May 28, 2007
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (GA)
Spot inputs and pics by RK Durga Digitals
Updates at 9.45pm, IST
Udupi, May 28: Finally the police have managed to identify all the 17 deceased in the ghastly accident at Muloor on Monday morning. Earlier reports had reported that total number of person deceased had gone up to 20, police have now identified 17 and two are critically injured and are fighting for life in the hospital.
With this even the clean picture about the identity of the deceased too has emerged. Out of the deaceased 9 are women, 7 are children and the last is the van driver. Following are the names of the deceased:
Maimuna (45), Ashraf (8), Yousuf (10), Nishab (9), Raziya (45), Khairunnisa (20), Safwan (9), Kjatija (65), Zubaida (30), Asma (22), Aminabi (65), Suhail (12), Naziya (12), Rashida (35), Minaz (30), Masira (4) and van driver Mohammad Ali (24) of Palimar.
There were a total of 32 persons in the van at the time of accident. Daijiworld correspondent reporting from Hi-Tech Hospital here said that 7 more are admitted there with serious injuries and out of them are critically injured and are fighting for life.
Post mortem of all the deceased is over and 10 of them were buried on Monday evening. The funeral of the rest will be held on Tuesday morning.
District in-charge minister Dr V S Acharya, former chief minister Dharm Singh, KPCC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Kaup MLA Lalaji R Mendon, former Udupi MLA U R Sabhapati and others visited the hospital and met the injured.
Udupi: Muloor Accident - Few Names Released
Updates at 08.15pm IST
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (GA) with inputs from RK Durga Digitals
Udupi, May 28: Though almost 8 hours have passed after the gruesome accident at Muloor in which 20 people died on Monday May 28 morning, names of all the deceased have not yet been released. Most of the victims are children and women, sources said.
A few of the deceased have been identified as Rashida (33), Asma (18), van driver Mohammad (32), Ashraf (8), Arfan (7), Nazir (6), Khairunnisa (37), Munaza (35), Maimoona (45), Zubaida (38), Nishad (9) and Yusuf (10). Though reports also mentioned about the death of Aminanadi and Raziya, nothing is exactly known about them. It is said that bridegroom Hameed too was in the van and he too has sustained fatal injuries.
But exact number of the deceased and injured, their names, family details, age etc are yet to be confirmed. Even the police are finding it difficult to gather information. Bodies have been sent for autopsy. A few seriously injured have been admitted to Hi-Tech Hospital here.
Exact number of the victims and their family as well as personal details may be available by late night on Monday, said Daijiworld correspondent who has been reporting from the spot.
Update: Monday 4-45 pm
(MB)
Death Toll Rises to 20 - Tough Job on Hand to Identify Victims
The total number of casualties in the Muloor road mishap that took place earlier on Monday has reportedly gone up to 20. Those injured have been admitted to Hi-tech Hospital and Government Hospital, Ajjarakad.
The police and the authorities are finding it difficult to identify the deceased and the injured as it was a private vehicle, obviously jam-packed with passengers, with no log records available.
Udupi: Muloor Accident - Death Toll Rises to 14
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (GA)
Udupi, May 28: As reported earlier death toll in the Muloor road accident has gone up to 14 as of now. Daijiworld correspondent reporting from the spot said that it may still go up as there were more than 25 persons in the ill-fated marriage party van.
The van has completely been mangled and bodies and belongings of the victims have been found scattered everywhere. The scene on the spot is so gruesome that eye-witnesses said that they have not seen anything more ghastly than this ever.
Senior police officials including SP and others have come to the place. Traffic has been blocked. But police and locals are trying their best to clear the spot. However, people are thronging in big number to the spot.
It is said that it was drizzling a bit and as it is reported earlier road was slipping. This might have resulted in the accident. However, no one can deny the fact that buses plying at high speed on national highway 17 are proving to be a menace in recent times.
More details are awaited.
First newsflash, Monday, May 28, 2007
Udupi: Marriage Party Turns into Tragedy - At Least 12 Feared Killed in Ghastly Accident at Muloor
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (GA) - pics - RK Durga Digitals
Udupi, May 28: It was only a few days ago that a marauding tanker had knocked 7 people to death at Hejamadi on the national highway 17. While reporting the incident these columns had termed it as the black day for the entire district since no other accident in recent years had claimed so many lives in the district. Little did anyone known then that something more ghastly would follow soon on the same highway till at least 12 persons were killed at Muloor near Kaup here on Monday May 28 morning.
Reports reaching Daijiworld office confirmed that a private bus speeding towards Mangalore rammed into a marriage party tempo in front of the Narayana Guru hall at Muloor on Monday morning killing 10-13 persons. Daijiworld correspondent reporting from the spot said that the tempo has completely been damaged and the death toll may increase.
It was an ill-fated Muslim marriage party that was on its way to Kaup on a tempo that met with the accident. Right now nothing more is known about the persons who have died in the accident. But sources said that most of them could be women and children.
Daijiworld will keep updating details as and when they reach the office with pics.