Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Jun 15: Two persons who were moving in a motor bike suffered grave injuries after a lorry transporting sand hit their vehicle at Jakribettu in the taluk on the night of Tuesday June 14.

Santosh (22), and Ashwath (21), both from Guruvayanakere in Beltangady taluk suffered injuries in this accident. They are being treated in a private hospital at Mangaluru.

The duo was moving in the two-wheeler to Guruvayanakere from B C Road. They had stopped the motor bike by the side of the road at Jakribettu and were conversing with each other, when a lorry loaded with sand approached them at high speed from opposite direction before hitting them hard. Both the youngsters suffered critical injuries, and locals immediately sent them to hospital for treatment. The motor bike and truck have been confiscated by policemen.

Protest against sand trucks

The situation at the spot turned tense after local people, who were agitated at the recklessness of sand laden truck which hit and injured the two young men, stopped sand trucks which came that way, and held protest. They said that illegal sand mining and transportation has been going on in large scale in the region, and that sand trucks have been giving rise to a number of accidents every day because of their haphazard operations. The protest gave rise to tension in the area for sometime.

Bantwal traffic police sub-inspector, Chandrashekharaiah, and his staff visited the spot, pacified the agitators by speaking to them, and brought the situation under control.